Rulers   of   Kings 


A  Nooel 


Bt, 

Gertrude    Atherton 


Harper  &   Brothers   Publishers 

Neto  York  and  London 
19021 


Copyright,  1904,  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS. 

All  rights  reserved. 
Published  April,  1904. 


n 


To 

Poultnetj  Bigcloto 

one  of  the 

small  band  ofi  American  writers 

who   dares   at   all   times   to   tell   the   truth 

ichose  patriotism  is  genuine  and  useful 

and  icho  has  reoealed  to  us  so 

much  of  modern  Europe 


MAY  it  not  be  that  in  every  family  there  are  unborn 
children — souls  that  have  come  too  late  perhaps  to 
find  a  medium,  yet,  in  consequence  of  their  hereditary 
particles,  unable  to  seek  it  elsewhere?  We  know  not 
what  mysterious  dissolutions  and  recombinations  of 
spirit  take  place  in  the  realm  where  the  released  forces 
go,  with  what  deliberation  the  essences  of  families  are  re 
mixed;  oftenest,  no  doubt,  with  commonplace  results; 
sometimes  with  intent  to  bring  humiliation  and  disaster 
upon  a  house  which  has  transgressed  too  many  laws; 
yet  again,  combining  the  great  characteristics  of  mind 
and  soul  and  temperament  of  those  who  have  dis 
tinguished  themselves  in  history,  with  such  weaknesses 
as  must  inevitably  destroy  all  three — as  in  the  notable 
instance  of  the  last  Rudolf  von  Hapsburg.  Again, 
the  best  may  have  been  remixed  with  only  enough 
of  human  weakness  and  passion  that  love  may  be  in 
spired  instead  of  awe,  that  happiness  without  disaster 
may  be  possible.  And  yet  the  most  fortunate  of  these 
fusions  may  be  finished  too  late  for  its  generation,  and 
be  forced  to  bide  its  time  invisible;  or  perhaps,  by  some 
spiritual  statute  of  limitations,  is  deprived  of  its  earth 
ly  rights  forever.  Nevertheless,  it  may  linger  in  spirit 
where  it  should  walk  in  its  servant  of  flesh,  and  un 
known,  unsuspected,  take  its  part  in  the  daily  life 
of  its  kin,  having  its  own  influence  perhaps  on  their 
destinies  and  on  history.  And  the  romanticist,  so 
much  of  whose  time  is  spent  in  the  unreal  world,  may 
fancy,  once  in  a  way,  that  one  of  these  belated  souls 
has  swum  into  his  ken,  and  that  his  privilege  is  to 
rescue  it,  to  fit  it  to  the  part  for  which  Nature  so  tire 
lessly  equipped  it. 


NOTE. — The  dinner  described  in  Chapter  IV.,  Part  II.,  oc 
curred  in  1897,  but  it  being  necessary  that  the  action  of  the  story 
should  take  place  several  years  later,  I  have  brought  it  forward. 
This  of  course  could  not  have  been  done  had  certain  circum 
stances  arisen  which  might  have  given  immediate  historic  re 
sults  to  the  speech  of  the  Emperor  of  Germany.  Those  circum 
stances  not  having  arisen,  it  makes  little  difference  whether  the 
speech  was  delivered  yesterday  or  six  years  ago.  Otherwise,  the 
dinner,  the  speech,  its  effect  upon  the  Hungarian  magnates  pres 
ent,  its  reception  next  day  by  the  Hungarian  press  and  people, 
were  as  described. 


PART    I 


RULERS  OF  KINGS 


WHEN  Fessenden  Abbott  heard  that  he  was  to  in 
herit  four  hundred  millions  of  dollars  he  experi 
enced  the  profoundest  discouragement  he  was  ever  to 
know,  except  on  that  midnight  ten  years  later  when  he 
stood  on  a  moonlit  balcony  in  Hungary,  alone  with  the 
daughter  of  an  Emperor,  and  opened  his  contemptuous 
American  mind  to  the  deeper  problems  of  Europe. 

His  ambition  had  been  immeasurable,  yet  almost  de 
fined.  His  hopes  had  been  the  confident  imperious  ex 
travagances  of  a  youth  in  whom  narrow  circumstances 
and  a  high  indomitable  spirit  had  developed  that  ardent 
personal  force  which  equips  man  to  conquer  life.  His 
ideals  had  soared  in  stellar  spaces — ideals  created  by 
passionate  brooding  on  the  careers  of  Washington,  Ham 
ilton,  Napoleon,  Nelson,  Cromwell,  Kossuth,  the  great 
Hunyadis,  Alexander,  Caesar,  Rudolph  the  First  of 
Austria.  How  he  had  pored  over  the  lives  of  this 
catholic  assortment  of  heroes  while  his  fingers  froze  and 
the  winds  roared  through  the  Adirondack  wilderness ;  on 
hot  summer  afternoons  as  he  trudged  behind  his  plough, 
the  reins  wound  about  one  arm,  his  book  in  the  bend  of 
the  other,  vaguely  wondering  sometimes  why  his  mani 
fest  delinquencies  were  never  noticed. 

As  he  looked  back  he  marvelled  at  the  bluntness  of 
his  observation.  His  difference  from  the  other  young 


OF  KINGS 


men  of  that  high  gallery  of  the  continent  must  have  been 
obvious,  and  whenever  he  thought  of  his  dead  mother 
it  was  to  associate  her  with  a  magnificence  of  personal 
environment  which  in  time  he  grew  to  believe  he  had 
borrowed  from  the  Arabian  Nights  for  the  more  loyal 
framing  of  a  created  memory;  certainly  in  real  life,  even 
in  those  huge  cities  where  men  made  money,  even  in 
the  vast  cold  palaces  of  Europe,  of  which  he  had  read, 
there  could  be  nothing  to-day  like  those  splendors  which 
haunted  his  young  mind. 

He  had  just  investigated  the  interiors  of  the  toys  of 
his  third  Christmas  when  he  was  made  to  keep  so  quiet 
for  four  days  that  he  became  a  miserable  and  obstreper 
ous  baby  ;  on  the  fifth  he  forgot  the  troubles  of  his  past 
in  a  twelve-hours'  journey  with  his  doting  father.  His 
indulgent  nurse  had  been  dismissed,  and  a  woman  with 
a  white  cap  and  a  firm  admonishing  eye  formed  the 
rear  of  his  body-guard,  and  held  him  to  the  window  when 
his  restless  legs  sent  his  father  to  the  smoking  compart 
ment.  He  could  remember  still  his  bewildered  sensa 
tion  as  the  train  climbed  slowly  through  dark  forests,  as 
hard  black  peaks  travelled  across  his  blinking  vision.  Of 
the  night  ride  through  the  woods  in  a  springless  wagon 
he  recalled  little  but  the  sharp  accentuations  of  the 
"bull's-eye"  and  the  deep  sighs  of  his  nurse.  After 
that,  life  for  several  years  was  too  monotonous  for  mem 
ories.  He  lived  in  a  farm  -  house  without  toys  and 
sweets  —  which  he  quickly  forgot  —  and  after  the  depart 
ure  of  his  nurse  at  the  end  of  three  months  his  was  the 
life  of  any  mountain  -  boy  ;  out  of  doors  in  the  wildest 
weather,  out  of  bed  at  six  o'clock,  cuffed,  spanked, 
roughly  petted  by  the  farmer's  mother,  beside  whose 
bed  he  slept  during  the  remaining  years  of  his  childhood. 
Twice  a  year  his  father  came  and  spent  a  day  on  the 
Nettlebeck  farm.  In  summer  Fessenden  led  him  through 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

the  woods,  and  exhibited  his  many  treasures,  expound 
ed  the  forest  lore  to  which  he  had  instinctively  applied 
himself  as  soon  as  he  could  run  alone — unanticipative  of 
the  lore  to  which  it  would  be  the  golden  key  in  more 
difficult  years.  In  winter  they  sat  in  the  best  parlor, 
close  to  a  red  stove,  which  made  the  boy,  little  used  to 
the  luxury  of  fires,  sleepy  and  almost  ill.  Neither  woods 
nor  fire  inspired  Mr.  Abbott  to  many  words.  He  ex 
amined  the  boy  in  his  studies,  and  took  his  physical 
measurements,  comparing  them  with  previous  entries 
in  a  little  red  book.  Then,  after  an  interval  of  sound 
fatherly  advice,  and  another  of  tender  interest,  he  usu 
ally  went  to  sleep ;  or  remained  motionless  for  hours,  his 
weary  eyes  fixed  and  rapt,  his  lips  and  nostrils  quivering 
occasionally,  but  stern,  immobile,  relentless,  the  lower 
lip  raised,  the  upper  drawn  down  and  under.  His  little 
son  fidgeted,  coughed  respectfully,  yawned  shamelessly, 
and  finally  stole  away.  Mr.  Abbott,  upon  his  arrival, 
always  presented  Fessenden  with  a  box  of  books,  several 
red  sweaters,  and,  as  soon  as  he  was  old  enough,  a  new 
pair  of  trousers — for  his  Sunday  use ;  the  boy  wore  over 
alls  on  other  days.  Mr.  Abbott  forbade  him  to  clothe 
his  more  conspicuous  part  in  anything  but  red,  that  he 
might  be  found  in  briefer  time  if  lost,  and  avoided  with 
less  effort  in  the  hunting  season. 

The  books  were  selected  with  a  careful  regard  for  his 
succeeding  years,  and  under  their  insidious  gardening 
his  imagination  developed  and  his  horizon  receded. 
He  received  his  elementary  schooling  from  a  young 
woman  on  a  neighboring  farm.  At  the  same  time  his 
body  grew  tall  and  strong  and  his  temper  fierce.  He 
took  as  easily  to  fighting  as  to  books;  he  was  sometimes 
ignominiously  whipped  by  hulking  mountain-boys,  some 
times  he  won  against  heavy  odds,  for  he  had  an  in 
stinct  for  the  scientific  rules  of  the  game,  a  long  wind, 

3 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

hard  muscles,  and  the  primitive  delight  of  the  small  boy 
in  war.  The  fights  were  not  uncommonly  for  the  favor 
of  some  baby  minx,  but  oftener  for  the  pure  lust  of  battle. 
He  was  frequently  mangled  and  battered  when  his  father 
arrived,  but  Mr.  Abbott  merely  laughed,  and,  on  the 
whole,  seemed  to  approve  his  appearance.  So  passed  the 
uneventful  years  until  his  tenth  birthday,  when  life  began 
to  ring  its  changes. 

II 

Mr.  Abbott  sat  in  the  rocking-chair  by  the  hot  stove 
regarding  his  son  with  his  dreamy  far-seeing  eyes.  For 
the  first  time  Fessenden  wondered  who  and  what  his 
father  was.  This  man  was  like  no  one  in  the  books  he 
had  read,  like  no  one  in  the  Adirondacks.  He  was  a  boy 
of  direct  methods,  and  was  about  to  ask  for  informa 
tion  when  his  father  spoke. 

"I  am  more  gratified  at  your  physical  development 
than  you  will  ever  know,  my  son,"  said  Mr.  Abbott,  ten 
derly.  "When  I  brought  you  here  you  were  fragile  and 
undersized;  it  was  thought  that  your  chance  of  becom 
ing  a  strong  man,  or  of  reaching  manhood  at  all,  was 
perhaps  two  in  ten.  But  I  knew  the  magic  of  the  moun 
tains;  I  made  my  experiment,  and  I  have  succeeded. 
There  are  other  things  I  wish  to  say  to  you,  however,  so 
sit  down  and  listen  attentively." 

Fessenden,  in  a  glow  of  expectation,  fell  upon  a  corner 
of  the  sofa,  and  Mr.  Abbott  continued. 

"Originally  I  planned  to  speak  to  you  decisively  when 
you  were  thirteen  or  fourteen,  but  it  seems  to  me  that 
you  are  brighter  than  most  boys  of  your  age ;  I  think  I 
cannot  begin  too  soon  to  prepare  you  for  the  future. 
Some  boys  are  taught  to  say  their  prayers.  I  presume 
you  have  been  taught  to  say  yours  by  our  good  Mrs. 

4 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

Nettlebeck,  and  I  am  sure  I  hope  you  say  them;  but  I 
want  you  to  repeat,  every  Saturday  night  before  you  lie 
down,  these  words  I  am  going  to  teach  to  you;  if  you 
forget  them,  to  rise  in  the  coldest  and  darkest  night, 
stand  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  and  repeat  them  twice. 
The  words  are  these — write  them  down :  '  Life  is  a  fight. 
Millions  fail.  Only  the  strong  win.  Failure  is  worse 
than  death.  Man's  internal  strength  is  created  by  watch 
ing  Circumstance  like  a  hawk,  meeting  her  every  spring 
stiff  and  straight,  laughing  at  her  pitfalls— which  in  the 
beginning  of  life  are  excess,  excess,  and  always  excess, 
and  all  manner  of  dishonor.  Strength  is  created  by  ad 
versity,  by  trying  to  win  first  the  small  battles  of  life, 
then  the  great,  by  casting  out  fear,  by  training  the  mind 
to  rule  in  all  things— the  heart,  the  passions,  the  im 
pulses,  which  if  indulged  make  the  brain  the  slave  in 
stead  of  the  master.  Success,  for  which  alone  a  man 
lives,  if  he  be  honest  with  himself,  comes  to  those  who 
are  strong,  strong,  strong/  When  you  have  finished 
that  I  want  you  to  repeat  '  No '  aloud  for  ten  minutes. 
The  time  will  come  when  you  will  rejoice  that '  No '  flies, 
instead  of  moving  reluctantly,  to  your  tongue.  As  for 
that  prayer  I  have  given  you,  you  may  not  understand 
it  all  now,  but  you  will  as  you  grow  older,  better  and 
better;  you  will  analyze  and  ponder  upon  it.  Life  is 
choked  and  gasping  with  young  men  trying  to  get  a  de 
cent  living,  with  thousands  besides  struggling  for  a 
career,  reputation.  I  shall  do  my  best  to  educate  you, 
but  I  want  you  to  grow  up  with  the  distinct  under 
standing  that  you  must  support  yourself  when  that  pre 
paratory  period  is  over.  I  may  be  able  to  help  you  to 
some  sort  of  a  position,  but  I  may  be  dead— and  I  must 
do  what  I  can  for  your  sister— 

"My  what?"  shouted  Fessenden.     "You  never  1 
me  I  had  a  sister!" 

5 


RULERS  OF  KINGS 

"  Did  I  not?  I  should  have  thought  I  must  have  men 
tioned  it.  She  was  born  when  your  mother  died,  and 
her  name  is  Alexandra.  Do  not  interrupt  me  again,  and 
listen  attentively.  I  wish  you,  as  I  have  just  said,  to 
grow  up  with  the  clearly  denned  idea  that  you  must 
make  your  own  way  in  the  world,  make  every  dollar  you 
spend,  owe  your  position,  and  the  respect  you  may  be 
able  to  inspire,  to  your  personality — to  the  dignity  of 
your  character  and  the  brilliancy  of  your  mind.  I  shall 
keep  you  here  until  you  are  ready  for  college,  where  I 
hope  to  be  able  to  send  you;  for,  unlike  many  Americans, 
I  believe  in  educating  a  man  like  a  gentleman.  I  have 
just  met  with  a  piece  of  extraordinary  good  fortune :  the 
other  day  an  old  friend  called  on  me  for  the  first  time  in 
many  years;  he  told  me  that  his  son,  a  Harvard  man, 
and  a  profound  student,  was  so  delicate  that  he  might 
be  obliged  to  spend  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  the  high 
altitudes.  I  called  on  the  young  man  immediately — 
his  name  is  Stanley  Morris — and  persuaded  him  to  come 
here,  for  I  realized  what  such  companionship  would  mean 
to  my  bright  little  son.  He  was  very  glad  of  the  sugges 
tion,  and  agreed,  for  the  sake  of  a  small  annual  sum,  to 
become  your  teacher — in  time  to  prepare  you  for  college. 
It  was  a  great  relief  to  my  mind,  for  I  want  you  to  re 
main  in  this  healthy  mountain  region  until  you  are 
grown,  and,  of  course,  expensive  tutors  and  schools  are 
out  of  the  question.  He  will  be  able  to  teach  you 
German  and  French  among  other  things,  and  he  has  a 
large  library.  Therefore,  I  shall  not  send  you  any  more 
books.  Fortunately  you  need  only  these  rough  clothes 
up  here.  I  feel  quite  confident  that  I  shall  be  able  to 
afford  the  small  yearly  sum  Mr.  Morris  demands.  But 
you  are  never  to  forget  that  you  are  studying  for  equip 
ment,  not  as  the  mere  routine  of  youth.  Do  you  under 
stand?" 

6 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

"Yes,  sir."  Fessenden  was  deeply  impressed,  but 
longing,  nevertheless,  to  get  away  from  the  stove  and 
steer  the  conversation  to  lighter  topics.  His  young 
brain  felt  as  if  it  had  been  hammered.  "Couldn't  you 
send  my  sister  up  here?"  he  asked. 

"No;  you  will  have  little  in  common  till  you  are 
grown.  You  would  act  detrimentally  upon  each  other. 
Girls  have  such  a  different  part  to  play  in  life,"  he  con 
cluded,  somewhat  vaguely. 

"I'd  like  her  picture." 

"  I  will  send  it  to  you,  but  you  are  to  promise  me  first 
that  you  will  not  write  to  her.  I  want  no  sentimental 
nonsense." 

"I  hate  to  write  letters,  so  I  don't  mind  promising." 

There  was  a  long  silence  during  which  Mr.  Abbott 
dreamed  and  Fessenden  squirmed. 

"Are  you  a  success,  father,  or  a  failure?" 

Mr.  Abbott  jumped.  "I? — well — I  will  let  you  judge 
of  that  for  yourself  when  you  are  grown." 

"Do  you  keep  a  grocery  store? — or  teach  school? — or 
write  books?" 

"  No,"  Mr.  Abbott  laughed.  "  But  I  get  my  humble 
living  honestly.  I  am  a  lawyer  by  profession." 

"What  is  a  lawyer?" 

"Dear,  happy  child!  All  in  good  time,  my  boy. 
Now  run  out  in  the  air  if  you  like.  Your  cheeks  are 
very  red.  Perhaps  you  will  find  an  apple  in  my  bag." 


Ill 

During  the  following  week  Fessenden  read  little  and 
was  too  amiably  excited  for  battle.  He  had  seen  few 
strangers  in  that  primeval  wilderness — no  gentleman  but 
his  father;  and  Mr.  Abbott  had  taken  pains  to  admonish 

7 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

him  that  he  was  never  to  forget  he  was  a  gentleman— to 
criticise  his  table  manners,  gait,  and  carriage.  In  the 
course  of  his  last  visit,  after  he  had  twice  swept  his  son's 
elbows  off  the  table  and  arrested  his  knife  on  its  flight 
to  the  butter-dish,  he  had  said,  severely:  "  I  am  not  rais 
ing  you  to  be  a  congressman  from  a  backwoods  district. 
Without  manners  your  morals  might  just  as  well  be  bad 
as  good.  I  am  no  democrat.  I  believe  in  hard  work, 
and  above  all  things  I  despise  the  idle  fools  that  rich 
fathers  foist  upon  the  world;  but  I  equally  despise  the 
man  who  ever  forgets  he  was  born  a  gentleman.  You 
were.  One  reason  why  I  have  persuaded  Stanley  Morris 
to  come  here  is  that  you  may  be  reminded  constantly 
that  you  are  not  to  grow  up  a  country  lout,  and  disgrace 
— your  sister,  when  the  time  comes  for  you  to  meet. 
Do  you  think  that  small  head  can  remember  all  this  tire 
some  advice?" 

"Youb  etcher  life!  But  can't  I  fight  any  more?"  Fes- 
senden  had  asked  anxiously.  "I  feel  my  goodest  when 
I've  Viped  the  face  off'n  a  chap." 

"Oh,  fight  all  you  like.  Never  take  an  insult.  Never 
see  a  woman  insulted.  Never  take  a  back  seat.  If  you 
did  I'd  disown  you.  But  put  on  no  airs,  even  when  you 
are  being  properly  educated  by  Morris.  I  despise  a  snob 
as  much  as  I  abhor  a  weakling." 

"What  is  a  snob?" 

"The  snob  is  a  man  who  furnishes  comedy  for  others 
and  tragedy  for  himself." 

Fessenden's  eyes  were  a  hard  blue  stare,  but  experi 
ence  had  taught  him  that  when  his  father  was  cryptic  he 
did  not  intend  to  be  questioned  further. 

Two  rooms  on  the  second  floor  facing  the  south  were 
put  in  such  order  as  young  Abbott  had  heretofore  associ 
ated  with  the  unlicensed  imagination  of  the  story-teller. 
Not  only  were  the  walls  covered  with  heavy  red  paper, 

8 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

but  a  special  car  was  switched  off  at  a  distant  station,  and 
its  contents,  when  hauled  the  intervening  miles  and  un 
packed,  proved  to  be  worn  but  red  and  luxurious  fur 
niture,  four  bookcases,  several  heavy  rugs,  two  stoves, 
and  some  nine  hundred  books.  Fessenden  unwrapped 
and  shelved  every  book,  his  fingers  tingling,  unfaithful 
for  the  moment  to  his  chipmunks  and  rabbits,  his  hidden 
places  in  the  forest  where  he  was  the  mighty  leader  of  an 
invisible  robber  band. 

When  all  was  in  order,  Mr.  Stanley  Morris  arrived. 
He  was  very  tall  and  attenuated,  with  a  bulging  brow 
and  long  pale  fingers.  Nature  had  designed  him  for  the 
ascetic  and  scholar,  and  doubtless  had  taken  back  a  mere 
sufficiency  of  his  lung  cells  to  complete  her  purpose. 
On  this  shelf  of  the  world  he  could  live  into  old  age, 
pack  his  avid  brain  with  the  master  thoughts  of  other 
men,  and  one  day,  possibly,  give  to  the  world  a  thought 
system  of  his  own. 

"He  kinder  gives  me  the  dumps,"  remarked  Fritz 
Nettlebeck,  as  he  filled  his  pipe  in  the  kitchen  that  eVen- 
ing.  "  I  don't  take  to  people  who  looks  as  if  their  brains 
was  distributed  all  over  them.  His  head-piece  is  twice 
the  size  of  an  ordinary  man's,  but  he  looks  as  if  he  kept 
that  for  Sundays,  and  any  other  part  of  him  would  do  as 
well  for  other  days." 

"You're  gitten  imagination,"  said  Christina,  with  con 
tempt.  She  was  a  sour  and  elderly  virgin,  hard-worked, 
now  that  her  mother  was  growing  old,  and  disapproving 
of  her  brothers  in  all  their  phases.  Beaux  were  few  in 
that  vast  and  lonely  wilderness,  and  these  few  had  passed 
her  by.  Even  the  hired  man  had  failed  to  succumb  to 
the  potencies  of  propinquity  and  the  only  woman.  She 
was  an  uncommonly  good  cook  for  an  American  of  her 
class — her  parents  were  Hamburgers — and  had  won  favor 
with  the  campers  who  ventured  into  this  part  of  the 

9 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

Adirondacks,  Mr.  Abbott  among  the  number;  but  if  her 
cake  was  delicate,  her  griddle-cakes  light,  her  venison  a 
culinary  achievement,  her  temper  had  been  bitter  from 
childhood,  her  sarcasm  a  thing  to  make  a  strong  man 
falter  and  slink  away.  Christina  was  very  proud  of  this 
substitute  for  scholarship,  and  persuaded  herself  that  it 
compensated  her  for  all  that  lay  buried  in  ligneous 
spinsterhood.  "The  young  un  '11  have  to  turn  to  now,  I 
guess,"  she  continued.  "Much  chores  you'll  git  out  of 
him  if  he's  got  to  learn  all  them  books.  And  he's  real 
handy  about  the  house,  too.  He's  mended  a  power  of 
things  for  me." 

"You're  sweet  on  that  kid,"  said  Nettlebeck,  with 
borrowed  sarcasm.  "It's  about  the  only  soft  spot 
you've  got.  But  if  you  make  him  sick  again  on  cocoa- 
nut-cake,  and  his  father  finds  it  out,  he'll  be  packed  off, 
I  give  you  that." 

' '  Who  is  that  father  of  his ,  anyhow  ? ' '  Christina  never 
argued  when  she  was  sure  of  defeat;  and  having  sat  up 
all  night  with  Fessenden — who  had  stolen  the  greater 
part  of  the  cake — she  was  not  prepared  to  face  the 
enemy.  "I  don't  believe  he's  as  poor  as  he  makes 
out.  The  mortgage  is  paid  off  this  farm,  I  happen  to 
know — " 

"And  you're  insinuatin'  that  your  two  brothers  ain't 
hard-workin'  enough  to  pay  it  off  theirselves!"  cried 
Nettlebeck,  bringing  his  fist  down  on  the  table  with  such 
violence  that  Christina's  pile  of  clean  plates  rattled,  and 
she  gave  a  wholly  feminine  shriek.  "If  you  ever  insult 
me  like  that  again  I'll  git  a  wife,  and  how'll  you  like 
that?" 

This  threat  never  failed  to  subdue  Christina,  for  al 
though  she  shrewdly  guessed  that  no  girl  within  a  radius 
of  a  hundred  miles  had  the  courage  to  become  her  sister- 
in-law,  she  knew  that  a  desperate  man  might  make  a 

10 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

pilgrimage  to  some  distant  town  which  her  fame  had  not 
penetrated.  She  sniffed,  muttered  something  about  not 
being  minded  to  insult  her  own  family,  whatever  she 
might  think  of  folks  in  general,  and  carried  off  her  dishes 
to  their  shelves. 

"Mr.  Abbott,"  resumed  Nettlebeck,  having  given  his 
wrath  such  time  to  cool  as  a  female  could  expect,  "is  a 
generous  and  self-sacrificin'  father,  and  he  just  worships 
that  kid;  he'd  wear  one  suit  of  clothes  a  year  to  give  him 
what  he  needed,  and  of  course  keep  don't  cost  much  up 
here.  As  for  this  here  Morris,  he's  spent  all  his  money 
on  books  and  furniture,  thinkin'  he  was  goin'  to  be  a 
college  professor.  Mr.  Abbott  must  have  got  him  cheap. 
And  the  little  we  git  from  the  old  man's  regular.  Just 
you  remember  that." 

"I  ain't  forgettin'.  Nobody  asked  you  to  make  ex 
cuses  for  Mr.  Abbott  bein'  alive.  I  s'pose  he  ain't  payin' 
fur  that  canoe,  either." 

"That  there  canoe  is  a  second-handed  one,  and  I  got 
it  dirt  cheap.  Mr.  Abbott  consulted  me  about  it  when  he 
was  here  last,  and  asked  me  to  do  the  best  I  could,  as 
he'd  like  the  kid  to  have  a  canoe  if  one  could  be  got  inside 
his  means.  But  Fess  ain't  to  know  it's  here  till  his 
birthday  comes  round;  so  mind  your  own  business  till 
the  ice  goes  out,  if  you  can."  And  Mr.  Nettlebeck 
slouched  off  to  join  his  brother  in  the  barn  and  avoid 
further  questions. 

"I  ain't  no  fool,"  confided  Christina  to  herself,  as  she 
covered ' '  her  fire.  ' '  But  I  know  which  side  my  bread's 
buttered  on,  and  the  young  un  '11  git  no  hint  from  me. 
Then  when  our  share  in  raisin'  him  is  over,  there'll  be  a 
big  present  all  round,  or  my  name  ain't  Christina  Nettle- 
beck.  There's  been  too  many  campers  in  these  woods  in 
my  time,  and  I  know  a  rich  man  and  a  gentleman  when  I 
see  one.  Mr.  Abbott  was  the  worst-lookin'  tramp  in  the 

ii 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

woods  I  ever  saw,  and  that's  a  sure  sign.  It's  lucky, 
though,  the  kid's  what  he  is,  for  I  couldn't  stand  a  hateful 
brat,  nohow." 

IV 

Like  all  invalids,  Morris  had  little  affection  for  any  one 
but  himself,  but  what  he  lacked  in  human  sympathy  he 
atoned  for  in  courtesy  of  manner  and  nicety  of  conscience. 
He  instructed  Fessenden  until  that  restless  youngster 
besought  Nettlebeck  to  find  him  many  "chores."  But 
Fessenden  was  still  too  small  to  chop  down  trees,  to 
plough  ice,  or  to  saw  wood,  and  there  is  little  other  work 
in  the  mountains  in  winter.  There  was  no  alternative 
but  to  accommodate  himself  to  his  new  condition,  and 
brace  his  endurance  by  repeating  his  father's  advice  and 
attempting  to  understand  it.  At  the  end  of  the  long 
winter  he  was  studying  hard  and  fighting  less.  Now 
that  he  did  not  recite  on  the  neighboring  farm,  there  was 
no  one  to  fight  with,  except  on  such  rare  occasions  as 
when  a  boy  came  to  borrow  of  Christina  after  some  cu 
linary  disaster  at  home  or  some  unexpected  shortage  at 
the  mountain  "store."  Fessenden,  no  matter  how  deep 
in  study,  seemed  to  scent  the  messenger  from  afar,  and 
was  standing  in  the  middle  of  the  slippery  road,  his 
muscles  bunched,  his  eye  glaring  like  a  tiger's,  when  his 
expectant  foe,  uttering  a  hideous  war-whoop,  flung  his 
bag  into  a  snowdrift  and  hurled  himself  upon  the  cham 
pion.  Upon  these  occasions,  Dolf,  the  younger  of  the 
Nettlebeck  brothers,  always  dropped  his  work  and  en 
couraged  the  sport.  When  it  was  over,  no  matter  what 
the  issue,  Christina  invariably  cuffed  Fessenden,  then 
made  him  a  cake;  and  gentle  old  Mrs.  Nettlebeck  wept 
profusely  as  she  sponged  him  off,  convinced  that  it  would 
yet  be  her  mournful  duty  to  lay  him  out.  Her  own  sons 

12 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

had  the  peaceful  blood  of  the  German  peasant  in  them, 
and  this  enterprising  American  lad  was  a  dear  and  per 
petual  mystery.  Upon  one  occasion,  when  he  looked 
like  a  blind  puppy,  and  study  was  out  of  the  question  for 
two  days,  Morris  improved  the  occasion  in  the  interest  of 
reform. 

"You  are  a  great  fighter,  Fess,"  he  began,  tactfully; 
"and  it  does  my  poor  blood  good  to  watch  so  much  en 
ergy  explode.  Only  it  seems  to  me  a  waste.  Why  don't 
you  concentrate  your  energy  in  your  brain  and  become 
a  leader  by  the  force  of  superior  will  and  intelligence?" 

"When  I  fight  with  my  head  I  fight  with  its  outside," 
replied  Fessenden  dryly.  "I've  got  to  make  myself  un 
derstood,  and  I  do,  you  bet.  And  I'm  not  complaining 
of  the  headache  next  day,  neither." 

"Think  of  what  I've  said,  however.  You  have  es 
tablished  your  reputation  as  a  fighter;  you  occupy  the 
proud  position  of  champion  among  boys  of  your  own  age 
and  older.  The  raging  hate  which  must  saturate  you 
when  fighting  like  a  savage  would  make  me  feel  mean 
and  terrified  for  days  after.  It  is  all  very  well  to  know 
how  to  use  your  fists,  and  no  doubt  they  are  of  service 
to  you  here,  and  at  your  age;  but  they  will  play  a  small 
part  in  after-life,  and  your  character  will  play  a  very 
great  one.  You  are  so  constituted  that  if  you  would 
learn  to  control  yourself  you  could  command  your  fel 
lows  with  little  effort ;  and  at  least  when  you  fight  try  not 
to  hate  so  hard." 

"How  would  you  like  Christina's  puddings  with  all 
the  raisins  left  out?  Would  you  mind  reading  to  me?" 

"As  long  as  you  like."  And  Morris  made  him  com 
fortable  on  the  sofa,  and  read  from  the  lives  of  ancient 
warriors  until  the  heir  of  the  ages  fell  asleep. 

Fessenden 's  mind  at  this  time  was  a  virgin  field  into 
which  seeds  fell  to  rise  again  and  be  tended  by  a  curious 

*3 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

young  tiller.  Those  flung  into  a  fertile  crevice  by  Morris, 
who  took  the  responsibility  very  seriously,  put  out  their 
green  heads  in  time.  Fessenden  nodded  his  recognition, 
and,  although  they  were  by  no  means  his  favorite  prod 
ucts,  between  their  insistency  and  a  decreasing  lack  of 
opportunity,  he  arrived,  in  the  course  of  another  year,  at 
the  conclusion  that  it  might  be  interesting  to  make  boys 
follow  his  lead  without  resorting  to  primitive  methods. 
' '  I  suppose  one  might  as  well  wait  till  one  has  a  real  call 
to  fight , "  he  remarked  to  himself  with  philosophy .  "The 
animals  don't  fight  till  they  have  to — none,  that  is,  but 
dogs,  and  perhaps  that's  living  so  much  with  us — we 
sickin'  them  on  and  all  that.  It's  good  to  fight,  though," 
he  added,  with  a  long  sigh,  "even  if  the  headache  does 
last  longer  than  the  fun  —  that's  a  point.  Perhaps  Mr. 
Morris  is  right,  although  I'd  like  to  know  what  he  knows 
about  it.  Maybe  I'll  try  the  other  tack  and  see  what 
there's  in  it,  but  there  are  some  things  will  make  my  fists 
fly  till  I'm  eighty.  I  guess  I  wasn't  cut  out  for  a  Sunday- 
school  teacher."  Nevertheless,  he  worked  himself  into 
such  a  terrific  rage  the  next  time  he  was  challenged— 
after  an  unusual  period  of  virtuous  abstinence — that  he 
was  thoroughly  frightened  at  the  result :  for  several  days 
he  felt  flat  and  peevish,  and  more  worn  out  in  mind  than 
in  body.  Morris  came  upon  him  in  the  forest  where  he 
was  seated  on  a  stump  dismally  chewing  a  cud,  and  em 
braced  an  obvious  opportunity. 

"After  all,"  he  said  sympathetically,  "what  you  fight 
for  is  supremacy,  is  it  not?  Why  not  get  it  some  other 
way  ?  Although  you  poison  yourself  with  the  hate  you 
feel  while  actually  fighting,  hate  is  never  the  motive  of 
battle  with  you.  You  like  all  these  boys  well  enough, 
but  you  must  find  out  who  is  the  best  man  or  burst. 
Find  it  out  some  other  way — or  rather,  having  decided 
that  point,  try  others.  Besides,  the  great  man  uses  the 

14 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

brute  force  of  others,  he  rarely  indulges  in  it  himself. 
Did  not  Napoleon  sit  aloft  on  a  hill  while  his  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  nameless  minions  did  the  fighting?  So 
long  as  they  could  see  that  being  whom  they  looked 
upon  as  an  emanation  from  the  divine  intellect,  they 
were  willing  to  fight  like  fanatics,  but  if  he  had  rushed 
forward  with  a  musket  and  fallen,  the  ranks  would  have 
scattered  in  irretrievable  panic.  Are  you  cultivating 
your  prowess  to  fight  years  hence  when  a  great  man 
orders  you  out?" 

"Not  much,"  growled  Fessenden. 

"Well,  take  me  out  in  your  canoe  now.  We'll  talk  it 
over  further  this  evening." 

Fessenden 's  twelfth  birthday  occurred  a  week  later, 
and  he  persuaded  Christina  to  give  him  a  party  and  in 
vite  his  enemies.  They  came,  howling  through  the 
mountain  passes,  brandishing  big  sticks  as  a  manifest  of 
their  readiness  for  the  fray.  But  although,  having  been 
invited  to  dinner  and  birthday  cake,  they  expected  a  re 
spite  of  perhaps  two  hours,  they  were  disconcerted,  and 
privately  alarmed  at  being  received  by  young  Abbott 
quite  in  the  style  of  the  grand  seigneur.  He  wore  a 
new  white  sweater  and  a  new  pair  of  trousers,  and  he  had 
been  scrubbed  and  brushed  by  Mrs.  Nettlebeck  until,  to 
mountain  taste,  he  was  offensively  godly.  He  greeted  his 
weather-beaten  guests  with  a  hearty  grip  of  the  hand, 
insinuated  his  appreciation  of  the  forgiving  spirit  so 
touchingly  displayed,  and  when  he  had  them  all  seated 
about  the  table  in  the  large  kitchen  he  entertained  them 
brilliantly  with  anecdotes  from  his  most  exciting  books, 
while  they  devoured  Christina's  substantial  dainties. 
When  he  had  gorged  them  into  a  state  of  sleepy  good 
nature,  he  led  them  out  into  the  woods,  and,  mounting  a 
stump,  invited  them  to  spin  yarns  of  personal  prowess. 
Each  youth  in  turn  told  a  tale  of  terrible  adventure  and 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

glorious  triumph,  which  Fessenden  applauded  as  a  host 
should.  When  they  were  alert  once  more  and  ready  foi 
action,  he  organized  them  into  a  band  of  pirates,  and 
they  scuttled  several  ships  with  such  demoniacal  vigoi 
that  they  worked  off  all  the  steam  that  was  left  in  them : 
and  departed  at  nightfall  vowing  that  Fessenden — who 
was  now  dirty  enough  to  satisfy  the  most  exacting  stand 
ard — was  the  finest  fellow  in  the  woods,  and  that  they'd 
never  had  such  a  Time  since  they  were  born. 

After  supper  Fessenden  untied  his  canoe,  Pocahontas 
— whom  he  loved  better  than  any  mortal  except  his 
father — and  pulled  out  into  the  evening  shadows.  The 
Nettlebeck  farm  was  on  a  clearing  of  some  fifty  acres  on 
the  north  and  east  shores  of  a  large  lake.  Surrounding 
it  on  three  sides  was  the  virgin  unkempt  forest,  as  yet 
undesecrated  by  the  lumberman  or  the  logger.  Just 
beyond  the  clearing  the  forest  grew  to  the  shores  of  the 
lake — a  body  of  water  so  clear  that  in  the  early  morning 
and  evening,  until  the  ice  came,  or  except  when  the  winds 
raged,  the  great  spruces  and  pines,  the  beeches  and 
maples,  looked  as  if  petrified  in  one  of  the  old  glaciers 
which  had  ground  this  vast  region  into  form.  Beyond 
the  lake,  beyond  the  surrounding  forest,  rose  the  encir 
cling  chain  of  gentle  peaks,  some  barren  rocks  of  eccentric 
shape,  others  black  with  woods.  This  evening  theii 
upper  slopes  were  white  with  a  late  fall  of  snow.  The 
Nettlebecks,  like  all  American  farmers,  had  done  what 
they  could  to  make  Nature  hideous,  and  their  big  house 
with  its  haphazard  additions,  the  barns  and  boat-house, 
the  ragged  orchard  and  vegetable  garden,  were  like  a 
patchwork  apron  on  the  robes  of  a  goddess.  But  Fes 
senden  had  turned  his  back  on  the  Nettlebeck  outrage, 
and  not  a  shingle  could  he  see — not  a  column  of  smoke. 
The  blue  shadows  on  the  mountains  were  melting  as  the 
Ftars  came  out.  The  silence  was  so  intense  that  Nature 

16 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

seemed  to  laugh  noiselessly  at  man's  puny  attempt  to 
impress  himself  upon  her  higher  solitudes. 

Fessenden  shot  his  canoe  round  a  bend,  and  entered  a 
long  water-pass,  irregular,  half-choked  with  reeds  and 
swamp,  dark  from  the  forest  on  the  slopes  of  the  gorge. 
It  led  to  another  lake,  the  second  in  a  long  chain  of  lakes 
great  and  small,  on  many  of  which  some  farmer  had  made 
his  clearing  and  erected  his  monstrosities.  But  the 
gorge  was  long,  and  the  next  lake  too  wild  and  rocky  to 
invite  the  attentions  of  man.  Fessenden  could  paddle 
far,  and  fancy  himself  as  alone  in  the  great  Adirondack 
wilderness  as  the  first  Red  Indian.  From  the  day  when 
Mrs.  Nettlebeck  had  allowed  him  to  run  unattended, 
much  of  his  time  had  been  spent  apart.  The  nearest 
neighbor  lived  three  miles  away,  on  the  farm  where  with 
several  other  boys  he  had  attended  school  of  a  sort  for 
four  months  in  the  year.  The  boys  were  kept  busy  at 
other  times,  and  only  sought  him  out  when,  like  himself, 
they  ached  for  a  fight.  Solitude  had  become  as  neces 
sary  in  his  life  as  his  bed  and  his  bread;  and  except  when 
storms  raged  and  the  thermometer  stood  too  far  below 
zero,  he  left  the  house  the  moment  his  studies  with  his 
tutor  were  over,  and  took  his  reading  into  the  woods  or 
his  canoe.  On  Saturdays  and  Sundays  he  was  not  per 
mitted  to  open  a  book,  and  during  the  short  summer 
there  were  no  mental  tasks.  He  spent  these  holidays  in 
the  woods  or  on  the  water,  only  returning  to  the  house 
for  his  evening  meal  and  his  hard  bed.  Occasionally 
Morris  accompanied  him,  and  taught  him  much  of  prac 
tical  forestry;  but  although  the  man  and  the  boy  were 
good  friends,  each  preferred  his  solitudes — his  long 
silences. 

To-night  Fessenden  was  in  a  strangely  exultant  mood 
which  he  was  anxious  to  understand.  He  was  tired,  for 
he  had  played  hard ;  but  it  was  a  pleasant  languor  beside 

17 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

the  exhaustion  which  followed  his  pitched  battles,  to  say 
nothing  of  their  accompaniment  of  gaping  wounds  and 
nervous  depression.  He  had  passed  successfully  through 
his  first  attempt  at  diplomacy  and  self-command ;  his  fists 
had  ached  more  than  once,  for  Jeff  Hunter  was  in  fine 
fighting  trim  and  invariably  lashed  his  crimson  tide ;  and 
he  tasted  all  the  sweets  of  power,  of  dominating  in  a  new 
role,  of  discovering  unsuspected  talents,  and  of  using 
them  easily  in  the  control  of  his  fellows.  He  looked 
back  upon  his  career  of  fists  and  blood,  this  youngster 
of  twelve,  with  much  the  same  disgust  and  contempt  as 
might  animate  a  debauchee  crossing  the  threshold  of 
reform.  He  did  not  return  home  until  midnight,  and  in 
those  lonely  hours  under  the  stars,  in  the  profoundest 
stillness  that  America  can  give  us,  his  ambition  was  born. 
He  felt  able  to  go  out  and  conquer  the  world  then  and 
there;  but  he  was  modest  by  an  earlier  endowment,  and 
the  value  of  a  sound  education  had  been  impressed  upon 
his  responsive  mind.  But  his  soul  took  a  long  flight, 
and  met  on  high  vague  and  beautiful  shapes,  which, 
when  he  was  older,  he  knew  men  called  ideals — looked 
down  upon  a  wonderful  world  far  beyond  these  moun 
tains,  wherein  was  stored  the  records  of  an  eternity  of 
great  deeds,  where  greater  still  were  doing;  where,  in  the 
nebulous  galleries  of  time,  things  beyond  human  im 
aginings  awaited  the  quickening  touch  of  men  still  in  the 
making. 

Fessenden  returned  and  raided  the  pantry  for  a  glass 
of  milk,  but  it  was  some  time  before  he  sought  his  bed. 
In  the  depths  of  his  soul  the  sleeping  man  still  muttered, 
and  he  felt  like  Mercury  poised  for  a  flight  and  not  know 
ing  which  way  to  turn,  but  half  drunk  with  wondrous 
possibilities.  The  full  moon  hung  low  on  the  reflecting 
lake.  The  mountain-tops  were  white,  their  lower  forests 
black.  The  deer  came  noiselessly  out  of  the  woods  and 

18 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

drank.  The  sublime  and  lonely  scene  murmured  voice- 
lessly  of  its  greater  kin  in  the  highest  valleys  of  the  al 
pine  world.  Fessenden,  standing  on  the  upper  veranda 
of  the  house,  again  saw  only  Nature,  unchanged  since  a 
thousand  years.  Her  silences  might  never  have  been 
broken. 

"You — kid !"  cried  a  shrill  voice  as  a  window  flew  open. 
"What  on  earth  are  you  doin'  up  this  time  of  night? 
Lands  sakes!  Git  into  bed  this  minute  or  I'll  come  out 
and  cuff  you  good."  And  Fessenden,  who  had  a  whole 
some  respect  for  Christina,  fled  to  his  room  and  was 
asleep  in  ten  minutes. 


But  although  solitude  moulded  unceasingly  in  the 
structure  of  Fessenden  Abbott's  character,  and  with  co 
incident  intellectual  development  opened  Gothic  spaces 
in  his  soul  which  made  him  lastingly  different  from  the 
city-bred  man,  yet  was  his  life  on  the  whole  much  like 
that  of  any  healthy  youngster  of  his  age  who  lived  his 
boyhood  in  an  American  wilderness.  He  played  pioneer 
to  his  complete  satisfaction,  and  blazed  trails  in  all  di 
rections  through  the  forest.  In  company  with  the  re 
doubtable  Jeff  Hunter,  he  built  a  hut  on  an  island  in  a 
lake  of  wild  and  uninhabitable  surroundings,  and  im 
personated  Crusoe  to  his  old  enemy's  Friday.  This  so 
cial  triumph  was  not  won  without  another  struggle,  part 
ly  fistic,  partly  diplomatic;  and  Fessenden  regarded  the 
issue  as  his  greatest  achievement.  After  the  first  supper, 
cooked  by  Friday  and  eaten  with  the  graciousness  of 
royalty  by  his  master,  Jeff  succumbed  amiably  and  fol 
lowed  Fessenden  on  such  adventurous  tramps  as  his 
hard -working  father  would  permit.  They  spent  many 
days  and  nights,  during  the  summer  months,  on  the 

19 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

island,  from  which  they  sallied  forth  into  the  forest  or  to 
the  high  peaks  of  the  range  in  search  of  Nature's  dearest 
terrors.     They  were  once  treed  by  a  bear,  whose  cubs 
they  stumbled  over;  but  managed  to  escape,  by  climbing 
from  tree-top  to  tree-top,  when  the  bear  was  obliged  to 
return  to  maternal  duties;  they  had,  with  what  discrimi 
nation  was  possible,  selected  trees  too  slender  for  the 
bear  to  mount.     During  one  of  Mr.  Abbott's  visits  he 
was  entertained  on  the  island ;  and  by  the  light  of  a  camp- 
fire  and  to  the  accompaniment  of  ominous  sounds  in  the 
surrounding  forest  was  regaled  by  an  account   of  this 
adventure,  to  say  nothing  of  one  with  a  panther,  and 
yet  another  with  a  catamount,  told  by  Fessenden  in  a 
direct  unvarnished  style  which  made  his   father  tingle 
with  pride  and  an  echo  of  youth.     Shortly  after,  Fritz 
Nettlebeck  remarked  to  the  boys  that  he  had  two  shot 
guns  which  "he  guessed  they  were  old  enough  to  use, 
and  he'd  teach  'em  and  give  'em  the  loan  of  the  guns 
provided  they  learned  how  to  shoot  straight  and  would 
promise  to  be  careful."     The  immediate  result  was  an 
indiscriminate  slaughter  and  loud  protests  from  Chris 
tina,  who  viewed  an  overstocked  and  gory  larder  with 
disfavor.     When,  however,  they  had  riddled  and  dragged 
home  a  bear,  they  were  thereafter  too  proud  to  kill  small 
game  for  other  than  purposes  of  replenishment.     In  the 
hunting  season  they  spent  their  Saturdays  on  the  runs, 
and  killed  more  deer  than  the  law  allowed.     One  fine 
buck  was  shipped  to  Mr.  Abbott  by  Nettlebeck.     Fessen 
den  had  brought  it  down,  and  it  was  the  prize  of  the  sea 
son.     Having  achieved  this  fresh  distinction,  Fessenden, 
who,  if  he  now  fought  rarely,  still  burned  with  youthful 
ambitions,  which  had  no  relation  to  the  swirling  yet 
luminous  desires  in  his  soul,  organized  a  canoe  race  in 
which  boys  from  seven  lakes  competed.     As  his  prac 
tice  had  been  constant  for  three  years,  and  as  he  applied 

20 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

a  very  superior  brain  to  the  sport,  he  not  unnaturally 
came  off  best  man;  but  this  he  did  not  realize,  and  he 
embraced  his  canoe  that  night  in  a  glow  of  complete 
happiness.  He  had  named  her  after  his  favorite  girl  in 
history,  and  he  loved  her  with  his  first  boyish  passion. 


VI 

Fessenden  shivered  and  sat  up  in  bed.  It  was  the 
first  time  he  had  ever  heard  sounds  in  the  house  at  this 
hour,  and  even  the  birds  and  the  cocks  were  still  asleep. 
He  felt  more  oppressed  than  curious,  and,  dressing  has 
tily,  opened  his  window  and  slipped  out  upon  the  ve 
randa.  The  moon  shone  on  vast  fields  of  ice  and 
snow,  on  white  peaks  sharply  defined  against  the  dark 
starry  sky,  on  great  stretches  of  woods  whose  heavy 
spruce  and  naked  maples  were  laden  and  glittering. 
The  lake  was  a  sheet  of  ice  several  feet  in  depth.  Fes 
senden  had  driven  a  team  across  it  yesterday  to  the  op 
posite  woods,  where  the  men  were  chopping  trees  blown 
down  in  a  recent  storm.  The  thermometer  was  very 
low,  but  the  air  so  still  that  the  cold  had  no  sting  in  it. 
Without  the  house  the  world  might  have  been  dead ;  but 
not  so  within.  Several  people  seemed  to  be  moving 
about  in  a  curious  and  stealthy  manner.  Suddenly 
some  one  ran  down  the  hall  and  back  again.  Immedi 
ately  after  there  was  a  scream  from  Christina,  followed 
by  a  silence  so  sudden  and  complete  that  it  seemed  pro- 
founder  than  that  without. 

How  he  realized  at  once  that  Mrs.  Nettlebeck  was  dead 
he  never  knew.  She  had  not  been  a  strong  woman  for 
years,  and  had  spent  more  and  more  of  her  time  in  the 
big  rocking-chair,  looking  out  on  the  lake  or  reading  her 
Bible;  but  when  he  had  kissed  her  as  usual  the  night 

21 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

before,  she  had  prodded  him  playfully  in  search  of  dam 
aged  bones,  and  told  him  in  her  broken  English  that  she 
forgot  she  was  too  old  to  work  while  she  watched  him 
skate  and  turn  somersaults  on  the  ice.  Fessenden  knew 
that  she  loved  him  more  than  she  did  her  own  children, 
for  he  interested  her  and  they  did  not,  and  he  showed 
her  much  demonstrative  affection,  which  they  thought 
beneath  their  religiously  acquired  Americanism — if  in 
deed  there  were  any  impulses  left  in  those  dry  econom 
ical  natures.  And  now  Fessenden  looked  about  vaguely 
as  if  in  search  of  the  fleeing  spirit.  For  the  moment  it 
seemed  to  him  that  he  vibrated  in  unison  with  the  great 
forces  beyond  the  Universe.  It  was  several  days  before 
he  was  conscious  of  grief  and  his  loss,  but  he  tingled  with 
cosmic  curiosity. 

Morris's  window  was  open,  and  himself  buried  under 
so  many  blankets  that  he  did  not  hear  Fessenden  enter 
the  room.  He  sprang  up  when  gripped  by  the  shoulder, 
however,  and  after  a  brief  visit  to  the  death-chamber 
returned  and  endeavored  until  morning  to  answer  his 
pupil's  eager  almost  incoherent  questions.  He  expound 
ed  every  belief  he  had  investigated.  After  Fessen 
den  had  concluded  that  he  would  prefer  to  think  of  his 
poor  old  friend  in  that  Nirvana  where  there  was  no  more 
work,  he  went  out  and  spent  the  day  in  the  woods  by 
himself.  This  new  idea  of  Death  and  its  impenetrability 
to  mortal  light  seemed  to  him  magnificent;  and  Chris 
tina,  hastily  patching  together  a  shroud  out  of  sheets- 
old  sheets  at  that — and  Fritz  and  Dolf,  not  even  assisted 
by  the  hired  man — who  was  sent  to  chop  wood  as  usual- 
hammering  together  a  rude  coffin,  while  a  few  neighbors 
stamped  through  the  defiles  to  "help  lay  the  old  lady 
out,"  filled  his  ardent  young  mind  with  revolt. 

The  burial-ground  was  ten  miles  distant,  close  by  a 
church,  a  mountain  store,  a  post-office,  and  three  or  four 

22 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

houses — a  hamlet  in  a  clearing  through  which  a  stage 
passed  twice  a  week.  Once  a  month  the  church  was  vis 
ited  by  an  itinerant  preacher.  Mrs.  Nettlebeck,  to  the 
satisfaction  of  her  family,  had  accommodated  her' setting 
forth  to  the  Methodist's  returning  flight,  and,  as  there  was 
no  time  to  lose,  her  remains,  on  the  night  following  her 
death,  were  placed  on  the  "jumper" — a  low  sledge — and 
driven  through  the  snowdrifts  of  the  forest  by  torch 
light.  Fritz  drove;  Christina  stood  beside  him,  arrayed 
in  fragments  of  hastily  contributed  black ;  Fessenden  and 
his  faithful  chum  tramped  in  the  rear;  and  Dolf  and  the 
hired  man  lighted  the  way  with  great  pine  torches. 
The  jumper  was  on  runners;  the  men  and  the  boys 
wore  snow-shoes,  for  the  snow  was  often  five  or  six  feet 
deep ;  now  and  then  the  rude  vehicle  plunged  into  a  drift 
and  had  to  be  dug  out,  while  the  coffin  was  deposited 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  plunging  horses.  Once  the 
coffin  disappeared,  and  as  no  one  could  remember  ex 
actly  where  it  had  been  placed,  and  the  pitch-pine  was 
smoking  heavily,  it  was  some  time  before  the  treacher 
ous  catafalque  was  discovered.  After  the  box  had  been 
dug  out  and  safely  hearsed,  Fessenden  let  fly  his  wrath. 

"Why  on  earth  can't  you  bury  the  poor  old  lady  in 
the  forest?"  he  demanded.  "You're  treating  her  horri 
bly,  in  my  opinion;  and  I'd  like  to  know  what  better 
church -yard  any  one  wants  than  the  woods." 

"I  guess  this  family '11  git  Christian  burial  every  time," 
replied  Fritz.  "But  I  must  say  it's  mighty  inconven 
ient  dyin'  in  the  winter.  Still,  we  can  spare  the  time 
better  than  if  we  was  sowin'  or  harvestin';  there's  some 
thing  in  that.  You  can't  for  to  git  everything  right  in 
this  world." 

And  the  tramp  went  on  through  the  forest,  where  the 
late  moon  rarely  penetrated,  and  the  wild  torches  peo 
pled  the  caverns  of  the  dark  with  the  evil  spirits  which 

23 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

had  haunted  the  forests  of  the  old  peasant's  childhood, 
and  cast  sinister  shadows  over  the  stark  outline  bumping 
close  to  the  ground.  Mrs.  Nettlebeck  had  been  a  bit  of 
a  cynic  in  her  way,  for  she  had  never  been  persuaded  that 
the  transit  from  her  quaint  comfortable  village  in  the 
toy  state  of  Hamburg  to  this  souring  struggle  for  exist 
ence  in  an  aboriginal  wilderness  had  exalted  her  second 
condition  over  her  first ;  and  Fessenden  wondered  if  she 
were  smiling  grimly  in  her  coffin  at  the  hardships  of  her 
final  journey. 

They  arrived  at  the  settlement  in  the  late  sunrise,  but 
although  several  neighbors  had  assembled  to  help  them, 
neither  pick  nor  spade  made  any  impression  on  the  frozen 
snow,  many  feet  in  depth,  which  covered  the  church 
yard  and  its  graves.  The  preacher  managed  to  flounder 
through  the  drifts  to  his  duty,  and  preached  a  long  and 
dismal  sermon  on  the  platitudes  of  life  and  death,  which 
further  outraged  Fessenden;  and  then  Mrs.  Nettlebeck 
was  stowed  away  in  a  little  room  behind  the  pulpit  to 
wait  till  the  spring  came  and  the  "ice  went  out." 


VII 

It  was  several  days  before  Fessenden  realized  that  he 
felt  something  more  than  natural  grief  at  the  death  of 
Mrs.  Nettlebeck.  He  knew  that  his  father  loved  him, 
but  Mr.  Abbott's  visits  were  brief  and  far  between,  and 
his  infrequent  letters  rarely  covered  a  sheet  of  note- 
paper.  Fessenden  now  had  his  ardent  following  among 
the  boys  of  his  region,  but  boys  manifest  their  liking  by 
loyalty,  not  by  sentiment.  Fritz  and  Dolf  treated  him 
with  good-natured  indifference;  he  would  as  soon  have 
thought  of  kissing  one  of  the  scraggy  winter  maples  as 
Christina,  in  spite  of  her  cross  indulgence,  and  Morris 

24 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

might  have  been  a  disembodied  spirit.  Mrs.  Nettlebeck 
had  been  his  one  steady  well  of  affection.  She  had 
petted  and  crooned  over  him  since  he  had  come  to  her, 
a  baby  in  a  chronic  state  of  disapproval  with  his  nurse ; 
and  the  large  measure  of  rejected  love  that  was  still  in 
her  she  had  lavished  upon  him  daily.  He  had  taken  it 
as  a  matter  of  course,  for  he  was  lordly  and  masculine, 
and  there  was  no  sharp  contrast  of  neglect  and  ill-treat 
ment  to  fuse  it  into  light.  But  now  that  the  magic  had 
gone  abruptly  from  him,  and  there  was  nothing  to  take 
its  place,  he  felt  himself  up  against  the  barren  rocks  of 
life ;  for  the  first  time  the  future  seemed  to  hold  vague  and 
unknown  terrors,  the  present  to  be  less  than  the  supreme 
ly  satisfactory  thing  he  had  esteemed  it.  He  went  first 
for  consolation  to  his  canoe,  whom  perhaps  he  loved  the 
more  ardently  as  her  responses  held  an  exciting  element 
of  doubt.  But  Pocahontas,  like  the  bears,  seemed  to 
"  deaden  "  in  winter,  at  all  events  to  be  coldly  impersonal 
until  she  was  skimming  above  the  sunken  ice  before  the 
first  breeze  of  spring.  So  he  left  her  to  the  chill  repose 
of  the  boat-house,  and  poured  out  his  lonely  and  fright 
ened  soul  to  his  father.  Mr.  Abbott  answered  that  he 
would  go  up  to  see  him  at  once,  and  did  manage  to  pay 
his  son  a  flying  visit  in  the  course  of  a  month.  But  by 
this  time  Fessenden  was  ashamed  of  his  reckless  exhibi 
tion  of  sentiment,  and,  like  a  true  American,  had  jealous 
ly  concealed  his  gushing  fountains  under  a  cool,  alert, 
and  practical  exterior.  When  his  father  arrived  his 
head  was  high,  and  his  blue  eyes  keen  and  bright,  his 
very  muscles  expressive  of  masculine  impatience  with 
the  soft  side  of  life.  Mr.  Abbott  had  brought  him  a 
fishing-rod,  which  appeared  to  afford  immediate  con- 
solement;  and  then,  somewhat  to  his  father's  relief,  he 
began  to  talk  about  American  history. 

' '  Mr.  Morris  wanted  me  to  wait  until  I  had  read  more 

25 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

of  English  and  foreign  history,"  he  said.  "But  I 
couldn't,  and  I've  been  reading  out  of  hours.  We've  a 
great  country,  haven't  we?" 

"Great." 

"Up  here  they  all  think  it's  the  greatest  in  the  world. 
Is  it?" 

"  That  is  largely  a  matter  of  experience.  Personally,  I 
see  more  in  the  future  than  in  the  present.  We  have 
never  been  whipped.  That  is  fatal  to  steady  and  round 
ed  development.  A  nation,  like  man,  is  full  of  vanity 
until  life  has  trounced  him  more  than  once." 

"  I  should  hate  it  if  we  had  ever  been  licked.  And  we 
have  had  such  grand  men  to  guide  us — I  have  read  the 
lives  of  Washington  and  Hamilton  and  Franklin ;  and  we 
have  such  grand  ideals — after  I  read  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  I  went  out  into  the  woods  and  whooped 
and  whooped.  With  that  to  live  by  we  can't  be  in  need 
of  a  trouncing ;  and  of  course  all  other  men  try  to  follow 
in  the  footsteps  of  our  great  ones — there  are  a  lot  of 
others  whose  lives  I  haven't  had  time  to  read  yet." 

Mr.  Abbott  turned  his  eyes  to  his  son's  flushed  face, 
and  opened  his  straight  lips  as  if  about  to  smile  and 
speak.  But  he  closed  them  quickly,  and  brought  down 
his  lids  over  his  cold  dreaming  eyes. 

He  answered  in  a  moment:  "Our  ideals,  like  our 
theories,  are  the  best  in  the  world.  When  you  are 
launched  out  into  the  hustle,  it  will  be  time  enough  to 
know  how  they  work.  Meanwhile,  don't  worry  about 
your  country — it  has  an  amazing  power  of  taking  care  of 
itself;  but  develop  your  intellect  and  your  strength  of 
character.  Do  you  repeat  that  lesson  of  mine  once  a 
week?" 

Mr.  Abbott  invariably  asked  this  question,  and  Fes- 
senden  was  usually  able  to  nod  satisfactorily.  He  con 
tinued:  "A  man  who  came  up  here  once  said  that  this 

26 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

was  the  rich  man's  country,  that  the  poor  man  was  get 
ting  less  and  less  of  a  show,  and  often  couldn't  get  justice. 
They  all  argued  after  that — it  was  down  at  the  store; 
but  it  didn't  seem  to  lead  anywhere,  and  I'd  like  to 
know  what  he  meant.  Was  he  only  talking?  Is  that 
the  reason  you  are  poor?  You  seem  to  me  the  cleverest 
man  in  the  world — and  even  Mr.  Morris  thinks  an  awful 
lot  of  you — he's  not  much  on  admiring.  Are  you  ground 
down  by  the  rich?  I  should  think  you  could  sail  into 
'em,  and  send  'em  all  higher 'n  a  kite." 

Mr.  Abbott  opened  the  door  of  the  stove  and  poked 
the  fire.  Its  red  glow  was  reflected  in  his  face,  usually 
the  hue  of  leather. 

"I  cannot  say  that  the  rich  have  interfered  with  me," 
he  replied,  after  a  considerable  pause.  "I  have  chosen 
my  own  course,  and  have  felt  justified  in  pursuing  it. 
Don't  believe  all  this  twaddle  about  the  rich,  my  son. 
It  is  their  enterprise  that  has  made  this  country  great, 
not  the  growling  of  the  failures.  It  is  they  who  encour 
age  and  promote  industries,  whether  their  employees  like 
their  manner  of  doing  it  or  not.  It  is  they  who  make  the 
money  circulate,  find  employment  for  millions,  keep 
the  fires  crackling  under  the  great  boiling  caldron. 
Moreover,  most  of  them  have  risen  from  the  ranks  of 
these  grumblers — who,  one  and  all,  dream  of  reaching 
their  altitude  and  having  their  chance  to  dictate  to 
those  still  below.  Never  forget  that  point.  Every 
working-man  on  strike  is  a  potential  millionaire — in  fact 
as  well  as  in  fancy — for  this  country  offers  equal  chances 
to  all.  It  is  the  brains  of  the  men  that  are  not  equal; 
and  every  millionaire  has  only  himself — in  rare  instances 
his  immediate  forebears — to  thank  that  he  is  not  still 
grovelling  with  the  herd,  close  to  the  wall." 

"Then  of  course  the  millionaires  have  the  really  great 
minds  nowadays.  Having  done  such  wonderful  things, 

27 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

I  should  think  they  would  feel  as  if  all  the  rest  of  the 
world  were  their  children." 

"H'm!  My  son,  I  think  it  is  time  for  you  to  go  to 
bed." 

VIII 

Fessenden,  until  his  Great  Love  Affair,  which  occurred 
when  he  had  rounded  his  seventeenth  year,  lived  in  his 
books  and  the  future,  finding  less  and  less  companion 
ship  in  his  now  humble  and  devoted  band  of  followers. 
This  interval  of  four  years  was  pricked  out  by  two  va 
riations  only:  the  gradually  discontinuing  visits  of  his 
father  and  the  slight  change  incident  upon  a  letter 
received  from  Mr.  Abbott  on  his  son's  fifteenth  birth 
day: 

"Mv  DEAR  BOY"  —  (this  letter  began,  in  the  well-bred  but 
curiously  unexercised  handwriting  which  sometimes  made  Fes 
senden  wonder  if  his  father  never  wrote  to  any  one  else) — "It 
may  be  some  time,  perhaps  years,  before  we  meet  again.  I  shall 
give  you  no  reason  now  for  this  additional  separation,  so  painful 
to  me.  When  the  time  comes  I  shall  explain,  and  you  will  find 
the  explanation  satisfactory.  Meanwhile,  I  shall  write  to  you 
twice  a  year,  remind  you  of  all  the  advice  and  admonition  I  have 
given  you,  and  ask  many  questions.  I  am  very  much  gratified 
with  Mr.  Morris's  accounts  of  you.  It  is  in  your  blood  to  take 
naturally  to  books.  I  hope  and  pray  that  other  things  may 
come  as  readily  to  you  in  due  course. 

"I  have  now  concluded  that  you  are  old  and  strong  enough  to 
support  yourself — barring  your  tuition,  which  I  shall  manage  to 
meet.  I  am  writing  to  Nettlebeck  to  put  you  to  work  during  the 
fine  weather.  As  you  know,  I  prefer  you  should  not  study  dur 
ing  those  months,  and  you  will  be  paid  what  will  more  than 
meet  your  expenses  the  year  round.  You  are  quite  equal  to  the 
work  of  a  farm-hand,  and  it  is  time  you  knew  how  it  feels  to  earn 
money.  It  will  also  be  a  very  considerable  relief  to  me,  besides 
accustoming  you  to  the  fit  of  the  harness  before  it  is  imperatively 
necessary  to  put  it  on.  Your  sister  is  well,  and  sends  you  her 

28 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

love.  I  add  mine,  and  I  beg  you  to  believe  that  in  spite  of  ap 
pearances  I  love  you  devotedly — more  than  I  have  ever  loved 
any  one.  You  ask  for  my  picture.  I  have  never  had  one  taken. 
I  have  my  reasons.  One  is  that  a  man  always  seems  to  me  most 
of  an  ass  when  smirking  on  cardboard. 

"Your  very  affectionate 

"FATHER." 


"He  believes  in  disciplining,"  remarked  Fessenden  to 
Morris,  with  some  acerbity.  He  was  not  enchanted  at 
the  prospect  of  being  a  farm-hand.  "If  I  must  I  must, 
but  somehow  I  can't  believe  my  father  is  as  poor  as  he 
makes  out.  If  he  is  poor,  it  must  be  because  he  wants 
to  be,  for  it  always  seems  to  me  as  if  a  sort  of  power  came 
straight  out  of  him,  and  hit  me  hard.  And  up  here, 
where  all  men  are  equal — quite  unlike  what  you  say  it  is 
in  cities — the  Nettlebecks  show  him  more  respect  than 
they  ever  show  any  one  else." 

"That  is  the  mere  force  of  personality.  You  can  have 
the  same  experience  when  you  are  grown,  if  you  make  of 
yourself  a  strong  and  isolated  spirit,  not  a  mere  creditable 
member  of  a  type.  As  for  your  father,  his  opinions  are 
worth  their  weight  in  gold.  Obey  him  without  question 
— therein  lies  the  success  of  your  future.  He  is  not  only 
a  man  of  remarkable  brain  power,  but  he  is  between  three 
and  four  times  your  age.  He  is  helping  you  now  out  of 
his  own  experience.  Be  thankful  that  he  takes  so  great 
an  interest  in  you,  instead  of  spoiling  you  in  the  usual 
criminal  American  fashion." 

"His  interest  appears  to  be  more  excessive  than  his 
love." 

"Cannot  you  take  love  on  trust?" 

"Does  anybody  take  anything  on  trust?  Can  I  eat 
nails  and  believe  them  bread  ?  I  know  what  I  see,  what 
I  feel,  what  I  am  permitted  to  enjoy.  I  might  say  to 
myself  twenty  times  a  day,  'My  father  loves  me,'  and  it 

29 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

wouldn't  make  one-thousandth  the  impression  that  a 
weekly  visit  of  ten  minutes  would." 

"A  weekly  visit  from  Mr.  Abbott—"  Morris  checked 
his  laugh  abruptly.  "Your  father  is  not  too  strong, 
and  hates  travelling.  But  you  have  brain  and  imagina 
tion;  it  is  odd  you  should  need  the  regularly  administered 
pap  of  the  ordinary  youth." 

"I  am  human,"  responded  Fessenden  dryly;  and  as 
usual  he  went  to  Pocahontas  for  comfort  and  counsel. 

The  world  was  green  on  this  birthday  of  his,  for  the 
spring  had  come  early.  The  snow  had  gone  from  the 
mountains,  the  young  maple-leaves  were  fluttering  in  the 
forest,  the  fields  were  green,  the  golden  sunshine  flooded 
the  lake.  There  was  a  light  breeze,  and  Fessenden  un 
furled  his  sails  and  thought  into  the  sympathetic  soul 
of  his  canoe. 

"Perhaps,  on  the  whole,  I  like  the  idea,"  he  admitted. 

"With  one  or  two  exceptions,  our  great  men  have 
risen  from  the  ranks — were  hired  men,  grocery  -  store 
clerks,  born  in  log-cabins,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing.  To 
be  sure,  my  favorites  happen  to  be  the  ones  who  were  not ; 
still  it  seems  to  be  the  proper  thing  in  this  country,  and 
as  I  intend  to  be  a  great  man,  old  girl,  I  am  contented 
to  start  at  the  proper  place— no  log-hut  could  be  uglier 
than  the  Nettlebeck  farm-house,  and  I  am  going  to  be  a 
hired  man,  all  right.  I  can't  help  being  thankful  that 
it  isn't  to  be  a  grocery-store  clerk.  What  am  I  to  be? 
What  am  I  to  be?  Can't  you  give  me  a  hint?"  He  laid 
his  ear  to  the  spot  where  he  fancied  the  heart  of  Poca 
hontas  beat  warmly,  and  for  him  alone.  "When  I  read 
the  life  of  a  great  warrior,  I  want  to  be  one.  Upon 
some  other  occasion  I  want  to  be  a  great  statesman  and 
orator,  and  spout  the  seventh-of-March  speech  in  the 
woods,  as  exalted  as  if  the  world  listened— and  feel  like 
a  fool  afterwards.  Write?  Morris  says  there  are  too 

30 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

many  writers  now,  and  that  my  brain  is  that  of  the  man 
of  action.  He  certainly  seems  to  know  more  about  it 
than  I  do,  and  as  for  you,  my  beauty,  you're  a  selfish 
hussy.  When  your  sails  are  up  you  think  of  nothing 
but  filling  your  belly  with  wind." 


IX 

Fessenden  was  so  preoccupied  that  even  the  voices 
and  laughter  of  girls  did  not  attract  his  attention  for 
some  moments.  He  was  inserting  the  little  nickel 
troughs  called  spiles  into  the  trees  of  the  maple  orchard, 
and  hanging  the  red  buckets  beneath  to  catch  the  sap. 
Dolf  was  in  the  sugar  shanty  near  by,  scouring  out  the 
vats,  for  the  boiling  would  begin  to-morrow,  and  maple- 
sugar  was  an  industry  from  which  the  Nettlebecks  de 
rived  a  yearly  income  of  several  hundred  dollars.  This 
year  Fessenden,  who  was  now  seventeen  and  tired  of 
being  a  farm-hand,  had  stipulated  that  he  was  to  work 
on  shares,  arguing  that  if  he  did  two-thirds  of  the  work 
he  was  entitled  to  at  least  one-third  of  the  profits.  Net- 
tlebeck,  after  some  demur,  and  a  long  growl  over  his 
pipe  one  evening,  capitulated  when  young  Abbott  threat 
ened  to  stake  off  a  claim  on  government  land  and  in 
partnership  with  Jeff  Hunter  build  his  own  vats.  Fessen 
den  was  feeling  much  elated  over  his  rise  in  life,  and  his 
imagination  was  running  riot  in  a  great  future  to  which 
sugar  should  be  the  stepping-stone — he  had  recently 
read  several  articles  on  self  made  men  in  magazines 
sent  to  Morris — when  his  house  of  cards  came  tumbling 
down,  and  the  future  financier  rose  from  the  ruins,  a 
blushing,  shivering,  gibbering  swain. 

"This'  here  is  Grace  Morton,  Fess,"  remarked  the  dry 
young  voice  of  Mamie  Hunter.  "She's  come  to  stay 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

with  me  a  spell.     Lives  down  to  M alone,  and  ain't  very 
well." 

During  this  elaborate  introduction  Fessenden  was 
gazing  into  the  soft  black  eyes  of  the  prettiest  girl  he 
had  ever  seen.  Her  hair  was  dark,  her  features  fragile 
and  regular;  she  wore  a  black  frock  and  a  red-peaked 
cap,  red  about  her  throat  and  tiny  waist.  Her  complex 
ion  was  sickly,  her  figure  might  have  been  that  of  the 
last  woman,  but  Fessenden  saw  no  defects.  Neither  did 
he  recpgnize  the  vacant,  the  utterly  commonplace  mind 
that  looked  from  that  sweet  unchanging  face.  She  was 
a  little  beauty  in  her  way,  and  wholly  unlike  the  buxom 
rough-handed  girls  of  his  district;  there  pervaded  her 
that  neutral  refinement  which  nature  has  lavished  with 
such  a  curious  lack  of  discrimination  upon  all  classes  in 
the  United  States;  and  to  Fessenden,  who  had  never  seen 
even  a  village,  she  seemed  city -bred  and  fashionable. 
She  blushed  under  his  devouring  gaze,  and  then  she 
looked  like  a  wild  rose  of  the  woods;  one  barrier  fell. 
She  raised  her  eyes  and  glanced  vaguely  round. 

"I've  never  seen  the  sap  running  before,"  she  re 
marked.  "  It  looks  real  nice.  Is  it  sweet  like  what  we 
eat  on  cakes?" 

"You  goose!"  exclaimed  Miss  Hunter.  "It's  got  to 
be  boiled  down  first— the  water  boiled  out  of  it;  not  that 
it's  so  bad  now." 

Fessenden  had  produced  a  tin  cup  and  filled  it  with 
the  running  liquid.  "Will  you  taste  it?"  he  asked 
hoarsely. 

She  took  the  cup  from  him,  and  their  fingers  met.  He 
trembled.  She  did  not,  and  tasted  the  sap  daintily. 
"Well,  I  like  it,"  she  announced.  "It's  real  refreshing, 
and  we  had  a  long  walk  over  here.  I  never  walked  so 
far  before,  and  I'm  all  tuckered  out.  I  guess  I'll  sit 
down." 

32 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

Fessenden  hastily  cleared  off  a  log,  and  regretted  that 
he  had  no  coat  to  fling  upon  it — for  obvious  reasons  he 
could  not  remove  his  sweater.  She  seated  herself  with 
the  fastidious  little  manner  which  pervaded  her  person 
ality,  and  Miss  Hunter,  remarking  that  she  guessed  she 
was  not  wanted,  strolled  off  to  call  on  Christina.  Fessen 
den,  humbly  craving  permission,  seated  himself  beside 
the  beauty  from  Malone,  regardless  of  the  sap  that  was 
flowing  from  the  punctured  trees  which  still  awaited  spile 
and  bucket.  They  talked  disconnectedly  of  various 
things,  no  one  of  which  could  Fessenden  recall  later. 
Her  remarks  were  pleasant  and  meaningless  and  she  was 
utterly  unmoved.  She  thought  this  young  mountaineer 
very  handsome  and  clever-looking,  and  she  had  a  faint 
romantic  preference  for  tall  men;  but  her  poor  little 
body  was  not  destined  for  reproduction,  and  her  brain 
was  too  small  for  imagination  and  sentiment.  She  was 
vain  and  liked  attention,  but  she  was  without  guile, 
and  as  she  had  no  immediate  reason  for  marrying,  her 
mother  keeping  a  small  store  comfortably,  she  encour 
aged  no  one  of  her  admirers,  while  accepting  the  homage 
of  several  as  a  matter  of  course.  The  wild  tempest  in 
Fessenden  she  could  not  have  understood  with  the  aid  of 
a  miracle. 

"Is  this  your  first  visit  to  the  woods?"  asked  Fessen 
den,  who  wondered  dully  why  he  was  so  stupid;  he  could 
think  of  nothing  to  say  to  this  divine  creature,  and 
words,  as  a  rule,  came  to  him  almost  as  rapidly  as 
thoughts. 

"No,  I've  never  been  before.  I  always  wanted  to." 
Her  voice  was  sweet  and  thin;  it  was  only  when  she 
raised  it  that  it  escaped  through  her  nose.  To  the  in 
fatuated  Fessenden  it  sounded  like  the  rilling  of  one  of 
the  minor  streams  in  the  woods. 

"I  hope  you'll  stay  a  long  while." 
3  33 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

"I  guess  I  will.  Most  of  our  folks  've  died  of  con 
sumption,  and  I've  had  a  hackin'  kind  of  cough.  But  I 
guess  I'll  get  over  it  here.  I'm  better  already." 

If  there  was  a  mutter  of  protest  from  the  race  in 
Fessenden's  depths  he  let  it  pass  unheeded.  His  sud 
denly  conceived  and  violent  passion  needed  but  the  lash 
of  pity  to  transform  him  from  the  individual  into  the 
type,  tumultuous  with  sentimental  desire;  the  instinct 
of  the  strong  to  protect  the  beloved  weak,  keen  and 
quick;  pouring  into  a  flimsy  shell  such  an  ideal  as  man 
knows  only  in  his  dreams — the  determination  to  possess 
this  inestimable  treasure  though  the  world  stood  still 
and  the  angels  warned  through  brazen  trumpets. 

" I  hope  this  log  isn't  damp,"  he  said  anxiously.  "I'd 
better  fetch  you  something  from  the  house  to  sit  on." 

"Oh,  I'd  be  afraid  to  stay  here  alone,  and  I  can't  walk 
another  step.  It's  bad  enough  to  walk  home.  I  guess 
this  log's  all  right.  Have  you  ever  been  to  Malone?" 

"Never!"  Fessenden  for  the  first  time  realized  his 
rude  wild  state.  "I've  never  been  twenty  miles  from 
here." 

"My!  you  are  a  country  bumpkin.  I'm  sorry  if  I've 
hurt  your  feelings,"  she  added  contritely  as  Fessen 
den's  sunburnt  face  assumed  a  purple  hue.  "I'm  always 
saying  silly  things.  You  mustn't  mind  me.  The  boys 
always  say  I  just  rattle  out  anything  that  comes  into  my 
head,  and  they  don't  mind  a  bit." 

"I'm  sure  I  don't  either,"  said  Fessenden  quickly;  he 
was  determined  to  equal  the  Maloner  in  insensibility. 
"I  should  think"— he  blundered  somehow  through  his 
first  compliment— "  that  anything  you  said  would  be 
about  right." 

"Well,  that's  what  they  tell  me,"  she  replied  com 
placently.  "You  can  get  me  another  cup  of  that  sap 
if  you  like." 

34 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

Fessenden  held  the  cup  to  her  mouth,  which  was  thin 
and  curved  and  scarlet.  Then,  partly  because  his  emo 
tions  were  rendering  him  speechless,  partly  because  he 
was  fired  with  the  primitive  desire  of  the  male  to  show 
off  before  the  female,  he  swung  his  axe  to  his  shoulder 
and  muttered  that  he  guessed  he'd  better  cut  down  a 
tree;  he  was  wasting  too  much  time. 

His  axe  he  always  carried  with  him.  It  occupied  a 
place  in  his  affections  second  to  his  canoe,  and  preceding 
a  more  lukewarm  passion  for  his  gun.  In  a  moment 
Miss  Grace  Morton,  of  Malone,  was  admiring  a  lithe 
strong  back,  the  supple  free  action  of  two  brawny  arms 
as  the  axe  swung  as  easily  as  a  switch,  cutting  straight 
and  deep  at  every  stroke.  The  old  tree  was  quickly 
brought  to  earth,  and  Fessenden  leaned  on  his  axe  and 
dared  once  more  to  look  into  the  soft  eyes  beneath  the 
red  cap. 

"It  was  time  that  old  tree  came  down,"  he  remarked 
huskily,  yet  with  a  fair  assumption  of  indifference.  "It 
hasn't  given  any  sap  for  two  years,  and  has  been  bother 
ing  the  other  trees." 

"Bothering?     You  talk  as  if  trees  was  people." 

"Well,  they  are  in  a  way — that  is,  they've  often 
seemed  alive  to  me." 

"My!     You  ain't  crazy,  are  you?" 

Fessenden  laughed,  and  a  term  of  endearment  ran 
close  to  the  tip  of  his  tongue.  "People  who  live  much 
alone  have  odd  fancies.  But  that  doesn't  mean  they're 
crazy." 

"I  guess  they're  crazy  enough  if  they're  too  different. 
But  you  look  real  sensible.  I  presume  you're  all  right." 

She  looked  adorable  in  her  feminine  attempt  to  con 
sole  him,  and  Fessenden  wheeled  about  and  swung  the  axe 
victoriously  into  a  fruitful  maple.  This  time  the  young 
lady  was  bored.  She  preferred  conversation,  and  this 

35 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

mountain  stripling  certainly  was  handsomer  than  the 
M alone  small-fry  who  worshipped  at  her  shrine. 

She  coughed  pleasantly  but  imperiously,  and  as  Fes- 
senden  turned  quickly  the  sun  blazed  full  upon  her,  cov 
ering  her  bright  hair  with  little  golden  sparks.  Her 
eyes  looked  babyish  and  wistful;  she  had  one  of  those 
mouths  that  quiver  when  pouting.  The  poor  little 
creature  was  the  more  dangerous  for  being  quite  natural 
and  sincere.  She  had  neither  the  brains  nor  the  energy 
for  coquetry,  and  even  to  youths  of  some  slight  experi 
ence  she  seemed  as  perfect  as  she  was  pretty. 

Fessenden  threw  aside  his  axe.  "Let's  go  down  to 
the  lake,"  he  said,  with  brutal  abruptness.  "It's  not 
far,  and  I'll  row  you  and  Mamie  home — here  she  comes." 

He  strode  on  ahead,  and  when  the  girls  reached  the 
shore  he  had  one  of  the  boats  drawn  up  to  the  landing. 
He  rowed  with  such  swift  strong  strokes  that  the  light 
craft  fairly  flew  up  the  lake. 

"My,  Fess!"  remarked  Mamie  Hunter.  "You  appear 
to  be  in  a  hurry— must  have  wasted  time  after  I  left 
you." 

"Of  course  the  trees  have  to  be  spiled,  but  Miss  Mor 
ton  was  too  tired  to  walk  home.  You  shouldn't  have 
brought  her  such  a  distance  the  first  time." 

"She  didn't  calculate  on  finding  a  nurse  ready  made; 
she's  real  fortunate.  Perhaps  you'll  come  over  and  carry 
her  next  time." 

"I  should  like  to."  He  smiled  protectmgly  into  the 
impassive  expectant  eyes ;  even  in  the  throes  he  was 
the  lordly  male.  Moreover,  pride  had  shaken  him  into 
a  temporary  possession  of  his  senses.  ;<  What  do  you 
think  of  our  scenery?"  he  asked  Miss  Morton. 

"It's  real  pretty." 

"Pretty?     Beautiful,  I  should  call  it." 

"Yes    I  guess  beautiful  suits  it  better."     If  he  had 

36 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

applied  to  it  erudite  and  foreign  adjectives  she  would 
have  assented  as  amiably. 

"Fess  is  a  crank,"  advised  Mamie.  "You  mustn't 
mind  anything  he  raves  over.  You'll  be  the  next  thing, 
I  suppose — he'll  find  it  quite  a  relief  after  so  much  brain 
work. "  Mamie  was  an  admirer  and  disciple  of  Christina, 
besides  possessing  a  quick  and  observing  eye  of  her  own. 
She  had  a  long,  investigating  nose,  and  no  beauty  what 
ever;  but  with  the  boys,  whom  she  treated  villanously, 
she  was  the  most  popular  girl  in  the  district. 

"  Have  you  read  much  ?"  asked  Fessenden  of  his  divin 
ity,  ignoring  Mamie. 

"Oh  yes." 

"What?     Shakespeare?     History?     Biographies?" 

"I  guess  so.  I  always  forget  people's  names  that 
write  things." 

And  even  then  the  rosy  halo  swirled  unrent.  Fessen 
den  returned  home  and  viciously  punctured  his  trees. 
At  supper  he  was  so  incoherent  that  Christina  arose  and 
felt  his  pulse.  He  passed  the  greater  part  of  the  night 
wandering  in  the  woods.  During  the  ensuing  fortnight 
he  spent  every  evening  at  the  Hunters'.  Several  times 
the  girls  came  to  the  sugar  shanty  where  he  was  boiling, 
and  he  rowed  them  home  in  the  dusk.  He  lived  aloft 
with  the  gods  and  the  goddesses,  one  of  whom  was  Grace, 
who  gradually  assumed  heroic  proportions.  It  mattered 
not  that  every  interview  betrayed  her  paucity  the  more 
pitifully ;  it  mattered  not  that  he  never  once  struck  fire 
in  that  meagre  breast,  that  never  once  did  her  brain  re 
spond  to  the  confidences,  the  ambitions,  the  aspirations 
he  poured  into  her  puzzled  and  ofttimes  weary  ear.  He 
no  longer  loved  Grace,  little  as  he  realized  that  world-old 
fact;  he  loved  the  ideal  it  was  her  limited  destiny  to 
quicken  in  his  imagination.  The  great  forces  rushing 
through  his  veins  and  thumping  in  his  brain  had  nothing 

37 


RULERS    O.P    KINGS 

in  common  with  mere  facts  and  girls.  They  were  hav 
ing  their  first  innings,  and  not  even  grateful  to  the  cause. 
Nothing  in  the  vagaries  of  nature  is  more  inexplicable 
than  nine-tenths  of  what,  for  want  of  a  better  name,  is 
called  love.  It  is  a  wanton  waste  of  good  energy  and 
a  lamentable  waste  of  spiritual  forces;  for  the  passion 
moves  the  victim  to  all  sorts  of  unselfish  impulses,  exalt 
ed  emotion,  and  even  religion,  all  of  which,  in  the  reac 
tion  when  delusion  is  over,  are  finely  scorned.  That  love 
which  is  composed  of  an  instinct  for  companionship,  and 
a  complete  honesty  of  emotions,  and  is  lacking  in  senti 
ment  alism  and  the  tragic  note,  delays  its  arrival,  to  peo 
ple  of  ardent  imagination,  until  so  late  that  they  must 
have  much  richness  of  nature  and  large  recuperative 
powers  to  dismiss  into  the  past  the  memory  of  all  they 
have  spent.  The  theory  that  the  blind  passion  of  youth 
springs  from  the  relentless  instinct  of  reproduction  is 
true  only  in  part,  for  some  of  the  maddest  passions  are 
inspired  by  anaemic  and  useless  women,  and  the  earth 
has  its  full  measure  of  sickly  children.  If  Nature  has 
any  well-defined  plan  she  has  as  yet  hesitated  to  reveal 
it,  and  it  is  probable  that  she  is  still  amusing  herself  in 
her  laboratory.  Most  love  would  appear  to  be  a  momen 
tary  fever  of  the  imagination  to  which  the  body  responds, 
and  the  soul,  always  struggling  for  utterance,  tries  its 
wings,  flies  a  little  span,  and  flatters  the  brain:  when  a 
man  is  in  love  then  is  he  most  pleased  with  himself;  he 
never  imagined  that  for  heights  and  depths,  within  an 
apparently  trite  exterior,  he  was  so  remarkable  a  being; 
and  until  the  wave  recedes  he  bestows  a  like  approval 
on  the  chance  object  who,  in  the  prettiness  of  her  hour, 
or  by  some  trick  of  manner,  bulged  his  ego  into  grander 
proportions. 

Considering  the  issues,  it  was  fortunate  in  many  respects 
that  Fessenden  had  the  inevitable  attack  so  early  in  life. 

38 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

He  was  subjected  to  an  unmerciful  chaffing,  to  the 
most  sarcastic  achievements  of  Christina's  tongue,  and 
to  more  than  one  crude  remark  by  Mr.  Nettlebeck;  in 
subject  the  eternal  damnation  tendency  of  young  fools  to 
fall  in  love  with  a  bigger  fool  than  themselves — in  this 
case  as  useless  a  bit  of  furniture  as  ever  littered  the 
earth.  Morris  for  a  time  ignored  the  episode,  but  after 
Fessenden,  who  scorned  his  tormentors,  overflowed  one 
day  in  the  presence  of  the  polite  philosopher,  and  an 
nounced  that  he  intended  to  marry  as  soon  as  he  had  a 
maple-grove  of  his  own — college  had  no  further  charms 
for  him — the  tutor  and  Nettlebeck  had  a  long  and  mean 
ing  conference.  At  its  conclusion  Morris  spent  an  hour 
in  composition,  the  farmer  hitched  up  his  buckboard  and, 
in  spite  of  the  pressing  duties  of  the  season,  drove  thirty 
miles  to  the  station  and  gave  the  letter  to  an  obliging 
conductor  to  post  in  New  York.  Nettlebeck,  not  many 
days  later,  took  a  trip  which  lasted  nearly  a  week. 


X 

Fessenden,  who  had  long  since  proposed  to  Grace  and 
been  listlessly  accepted,  started  as  usual  for  the  Hun 
ters'  one  evening,  striking  through  the  woods.  The 
moon  illuminated  the  recesses,  in  which  the  snow  still 
lingered,  and  Fessenden  strode  along,  idealizing  even 
that  beautiful  forest;  for  would  it  not,  in  another  hour, 
shelter  two  divinely  selected  beings?  He  still  trod  the 
upper  ether,  but  even  in  that  rarefied  atmosphere  he 
experienced  a  slight  chill  as  he  saw  Jeff  Hunter  hastening 
towards  him  through  the  romantic  reaches. 

Jeff,  who  under  Fessenden 's  training  had  acquired  a 
direct  and  uncompromising  method  of  speech,  wasted  no 
time  in  coming  to  the  point. 

39 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

"  I've  got  bad  news  for  you,"  he  announced.  "  Grace's 
gone,  and  she  won't  come  back,  neither." 

Fessenden,  who  had  a  confused  sense  that  he  was 
tumbling  through  space,  merely  stared  at  Jeff,  who  con 
tinued  : 

"  Her  ma  came  this  morning  and  yanked  her  off — said 
she'd  have  no  such  nonsense  with  a  girl  who  was  not 
strong  enough  to  darn  her  own  stockings,  let  alone  getten' 
married.  Grace  cried,  of  course — all  girls  do  whenever 
they  get  an  excuse — but  soon  dried  up  when  her  ma  said 
she'd  take  her  out  West  and  show  her  something  of  the 
world.  Grace  told  me  to  tell  you  she  guessed  it  was  all 
right,  she  hadn't  felt  much  like  getten'  married,  any 
way;  she'd  only  said  yes  because  it  wouldn't  have  been 
any  use  to  say  no;  and  the  old  lady  told  me  to  tell  you 
that  it  was  no  sort  of  use  to  follow  her,  for  she  was  cov- 
erin'  up  her  tracks — she's  a  tartar,  that  one,  and  I  guess 
you  needn't  cry  that  you  ain't  goin'  to  have  her  for  a 
mother-in-law;  and  I  guess  she's  got  enough  money  to 
go  's  fur  's  she  likes — she  told  me  she'd  be  five  hundred 
miles  away  before  night.  As  for  Grace,  Fess,  she  ain't 
worth  one  of  the  ribs  in  Pocahontas — that's  the  reason 
I  didn't  warn  you  this  morning." 

"Good-night,"  said  Fessenden. 

The  blood  had  rushed  to  his  head.  It  remained  there 
and  confused  him,  until,  after  a  brief  sleep,  he  awoke 
next  morning;  then  he  burst  in  upon  the  astonished 
Morris  and  raged  like  a  madman.  He  smashed  a  win 
dow  and  two  chairs,  vowed  that  he  would  walk  to  the 
West,  that  he  knew  Grace  loved  him,  and  that  if  she 
did  not  he  had  no  use  for  life  anyway. 

Morris  brought  him  partly  to  his  senses  by  the  ironic 
method,  to  which  Fessenden  was  peculiarly  susceptible, 
and  then  suggested  that  he  put  a  sandwich  in  his  pocket 
and  spend  the  day  in  the  woods. 

40 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

' '  When  you  are  a  rational  being  once  more  I  shall  be 
glad  to  see  you  again  and  talk  it  over.  I  sincerely  hope  I 
may  be  able  to  help  you  in  some  way.  But  we  all  have 
to  go  through  this,  my  boy.  It  is  as  inevitable  as  the 
phenomenon  of  man  and  woman  itself,  and  must  be 
taken  as  philosophically  as  the  ills  of  the  flesh,  which 
under  the  proper  diffusion  of  scientific  knowledge  will  be 
obviated  in  time.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  puppy-love 
will  prove  an  equally  amenable  microbe.  Now  take  to 
the  woods  and  think  like  a  man." 

Fessenden  took  to  the  woods,  but  the  time  was  not  yet 
come  when  he  could  think  like  a  man.  Calf-love  has 
furnished  the  mills  of  the  wits  since  the  first  pen  impaled 
the  emotions;  but  it  may  be  a  hideous  experience  to 
youths  in  whom  are  the  makings  of  strong  and  passion 
ate  men.  The  academic  standard  arbitrarily  established 
by  our  literary  powers  has  given  the  world  an  entirely 
false  idea  of  the  American  temperament,  which,  in  its 
masculine  half,  at  least,  is  excitable  and  sentimental. 
It  is  their  capacity  for  intense  and  powerful  emotion, 
making  them  in  mob  capable  of  the  maddest  excesses  of 
enthusiasm,  which  is  the  deep  indestructible  bond  of 
unity  in  the  American  race ;  that  has  saved  it  from  pass 
ing  off  long  since  in  fireworks;  that,  when  it  has  found 
the  courage  and  acquired  the  brain-power  to  struggle 
through  its  artificial  envelope,  will  permit  it  to  become 
as  great  as  it  now  thinks  it  is. 

Poor  Fessenden  had  not  yet  reached  the  analytical 
stage.  He  went  out  into  the  forest  and  suffered  horribly. 
He  wept  and  raved,  and  believed  that  so  far  as  he  was 
concerned  the  world  had  reached  its  finish.  For  the 
time  he  was  primeval  man  balked  of  the  first  woman; 
later,  when  the  acute  stage  had  passed,  and  imagination 
had  returned,  every  fine  impulse  and  need  of  his  nature 
which  had  leaped  to  assertion  under  the  quickening 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

process  of  idealized  woman  seemed  to  have  withered  out 
of  him  under  the  sudden  blight.  He  felt  shorn,  impov 
erished,  hopeless;  worse  than  all,  helpless.  To  pursue 
would  be  less  than  folly.  Only  a  fortune  and  a  detective 
could  have  found  the  indifferent  girl,  hidden  in  the  skirts 
of  a  determined  mother;  and  he  had  not  a  penny.  The 
little  he  made  beyond  what  Nettlebeck  charged  him  for 
his  board  went,  after  the  replenishment  of  his  rough  ward 
robe,  to  New  York  for  books.  His  helplessness  degraded 
his  manhood,  added  to  the  sum  of  his  miseries.  He 
stood  two  days  of  this  mental  hell,  during  which  he  ate 
little  and  slept  less,  and  then  he  shouldered  his  axe  and 
put  a  sandwich  in  his  pocket. 

"I'm  going  over  to  the  river  to  get  a  job  driving  logs," 
he  said  to  Nettlebeck.  "I've  had  fourteen  years  of  this, 
and  I'd  like  a  change  for  a  week  or  two.  When  the  log 
ging  is  over  I'll  come  home." 

The  river  was  twelve  miles  distant.  Ten  minutes 
after  he  had  started  on  his  tramp  through  the  forest  he 
heard  a  shout  behind  him.  He  answered  mechanically, 
and  a  moment  later  was  joined  by  Dolf. 

"I  thought  I'd  come  along,"  panted  the  younger  Net 
tlebeck.  "  I  'ain't  seen  drivin'  for  six  years  or  so,  and  it's 
good  exercise;  you  have  to  jump  so  lively." 

Fessenden  shrugged  his  shoulders  ungraciously,  and 
declined  conversation,  but  even  here  he  did  not  recognize 
the  ever-watchful  spirit  of  his  father.  Nevertheless  the 
thought  of  that  sympathetic  parent  spontaneously  oc 
curred  to  him.  He  was  the  one  person  to  whom  he 
could  have  spoken,  but  he  remembered  his  fiercely  re 
acting  pride  at  the  age  of  thirteen;  moreover,  he  was 
bound  to  respect  his  father's  mandate  of  complete  sep 
aration.  He  had  puzzled  deeply  over  the  motive  which 
had  prompted  this  decision  in  a  proud  and  affectionate 
parent,  but  had  finally  put  the  question  aside,  as  so  far 

42 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

beyond  his  limited  experience  that  he  had  better  apply 
his  inquiring  mind  elsewhere.  He  had  perfect  faith  in 
both  the  wisdom  and  the  love  of  his  father,  in  spite  of 
occasional  outbursts  of  disappointment,  and  although  the 
kind  firm  hand  that  guided  his  destinies  and  smoothed 
his  path  without  weakening  his  spirit  was  too  well  cov 
ered  to  attract  his  attention,  some  spiritual  emanation 
from  it  kept  his  heart  from  closing  and  the  bitterness 
of  neglect  from  entering  his  soul. 

They  reached  the  river  in  three  hours,  hearing  from 
the  forest  the  roar  of  the  dam,  the  loud  shouts  of  the 
men.  On  their  side  the  woods  grew  down  to  the  stream, 
but  on  the  heights  opposite  and  far  beyond  hundreds  of 
virgin  trees  had  been  sacrificed  that  the  people  of  New 
York  might  have  their  daily  news.  The  gates  had  just 
been  opened,  the  river  was  foaming  and  racing  over  the 
rocks,  its  surface  already  crowded  with  long  sections  of 
tree-trunks,  while  others  were  rolling  down  the  hill. 
The  boss  was  short  of  men,  and  Fessenden  and  Dolf  were 
employed  at  once,  for  the  logs  were  already  becoming 
jammed.  Fessenden  had  watched  "driving"  many 
times,  and,  jumping  from  log  to  log  to  avoid  crushing  his 
feet,  while  at  the  same  time  he  pried  refractory  logs  into 
position  and  relieved  jams,  he  was  soon  so  deeply  occu 
pied  learning  his  new  trade,  to  say  nothing  of  preserving 
his  bones,  that  Grace  lay  down  among  the  memories.  His 
passion  for  proving  himself  the  best  man  replaced  the 
other,  and  applying  all  his  intelligence  to  the  task,  he 
was  very  soon  the  most  expert  driver  on  the  river.  This 
elated  him  and  sent  consoling  rays  through  the  dark  re 
cesses  of  his  soul.  At  night  he  was  so  tired  that,  after 
the  evening  meal — a  repetition  of  the  two  preceding  ones 
of  pork,  beans,  bread,  and  coffee — he  was  asleep  before  he 
had  settled  himself  in  his  bunk ;  and  although  his  spirit  may 
have  wept  over  the  hearse  in  the  back  alleys  of  his  mem- 

43 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

ory ,  for  he  awoke  depressed  and  rebellious,  he  sprang  out  of 
bed  at  once,  ate  his  beans  with  a  relish,  and  went  to  work. 

As  he  tramped  home  at  night  two  weeks  later,  he  in 
formed  himself  that  he  was  cured,  and  when  he  reached 
his  own  comfortable  bed  he  slept  until  late  on  the  follow 
ing  day;  moreover,  he  enjoyed  Christina's  savory  dinner 
with  a  relish  which,  as  a  rule,  associates  only  with  an 
untroubled  mind.  Then  he  went  for  a  stroll  through 
his  favorite  haunts  of  the  forest — a  guilty  sense  of  dis 
loyalty  had  led  him  to  avoid  Pocahontas  since  the  day 
he  met  Grace — and  it  all  came  back.  As  it  rushed  upon 
him,  as  he  realized  that  he  was  still  in  bondage,  he  trem 
bled  in  panic.  The  horror  of  returning  into  the  torments 
of  a  fortnight  since  was  as  strong  as  the  overwhelming 
passion  itself.  He  ran  back  to  the  house,  the  blood 
pounding  in  his  head,  and  searched  the  shelf  over  Fritz 
Nettlebeck's  desk,  where  letters  for  the  household  and 
neighbors  awaited  the  leisurely  claimant. 

There  was  nothing  for  him;  and  then  he  realized  that, 
subconsciously,  he  had  expected  Grace  to  defy  her 
mother  and  write  to  him — had  believed  the  separation 
to  be  a  matter  of  a  few  weeks ;  that  the  time  would  come 
when  her  demand  would  be  as  imperative  as  his  own. 
He  leaped  up  the  stairs  to  his  room  and  rummaged 
among  the  papers  on  his  table;  there  were  fragments  of 
exercises  in  five  languages,  dead  and  alive,  brief  studies 
of  public  men,  but  there  was  no  letter,  even  from  his 
father.  He  returned  to  the  forest,  his  hands  and  knees 
trembling,  his  brain  whirling,  his  panic  increasing,  mut 
tering  vague  phrases,  filled  with  terror  of  the  future, 
confusion,  a  mad  desire  for  annihilation.  Then,  as  his 
ego  reached  its  depths  and  grovelled  there,  he  straight 
ened  himself  suddenly  and,  flinging  his  fist  against  a 
tree,  exclaimed:  "  By  God,  what  slavery!"  What  he  had 
seen  of  religion  as  expressed  by  itinerant  and  ignorant 

44 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

preachers  had  left  him  cold,  but  he  had  entire  faith  in 
some  great  force  pervading  the  Universe,  although  he  did 
not  think  it  worth  while  to  apply  a  name  to  it.  He  be 
thought  himself  of  this  force,  and  by  a  violent  effort  put 
himself  in  relation  with  it,  demanding  imperiously  that 
some  of  its  strength  should  pass  into  him  and  relieve 
him  from  this  intolerable  state  of  slavery.  His  prayer 
was  answered  so  quickly  that  for  a  moment  he  stood  as 
dazed  as  if  he  had  been  transferred  abruptly  to  another 
planet.  Then  he  shrugged  his  shoulders,  laughed  at  his 
recent  self ,  went  down  to  the  lake,  and  took  Pocahontas  out 
for  a  long,  confidential,  and  somewhat  cynical  conversation. 

He  half  expected  that  the  obsession  would  return,  but 
it  did  not,  even  when,  missing  his  agonies,  he  endeavored 
to  evoke  their  ghosts.  Finally  he  sat  down  and  wrote  a 
long  letter  to  his  father. 

"It  has  taught  me  two  things,"  he  concluded:  "the 
advisability  of  keeping  a  tight  hold  on  the  bulk  of  your 
energies  until  you  are  sure  of  having  found  the  right 
woman,  and  the  danger  of  praying  for  strength  to  an 
nihilate  unless  you  are  quite  sure  you  are  not  making  a 
mistake.  In  this  case  it  was  all  right,  but  she  might 
have  been  the  one  woman ;  there  might  have  been  merely 
a  misunderstanding,  and  the  result  would  have  been  the 
same.  I  dragged  the  strength  from  out  there  into  my 
self  and  blasted  the  thing  to  the  roots.  I  am  convinced 
that  I  can  evoke  that  strength  whenever  I  will,  "but  it 
rather  frightens  me  to  think  that  I  might  have  made 
this  discovery  at  the  wrong  time." 


XI 

The  immediate  results  of  Fessenden's  enslavement  and 
deliverance  were  a  terror  of  women,  which  he  called  con- 

45 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

tempt,  an  augmented  interest  in  the  great  men  of  his 
tory,  and  a  daily  mounting  ardor  for  his  country.  He 
had  the  usual  school-boy's  idea  of  the  isolated  grandeur 
of  the  American  Republic,  and  a  corresponding  resent 
ment  against  the  rest  of  the  world  for  having  annoyed  it 
occasionally.  Mr.  Abbott,  who  liked  all  healthy  mani 
festations  in  a  youth,  had  asked  Morris  to  let  him  keep 
his  illusions  until  he  was  old  enough  to  accept  their  loss 
without  bitterness.  Fessenden,  who  had  been  patriotic 
enough  in  all  conscience  before  he  met  Grace,  now  burned 
with  a  holy  fire,  built  an  altar  in  the  depths  of  the  forest, 
and  solemnly  devoted  his  life  and  energies  to  the  service 
of  the  United  States — thought  of  her,  dreamed  of  her, 
poured  upon  her  all  the  rejected  passion  of  his  nature. 
But  as  yet  no  light  had  been  shed  upon  the  manner  in 
which  he  should  best  serve  her,  and  one  day  he  abruptly 
broached  the  subject  to  Morris.  The  tutor  came  to  at 
tention  at  once.  He  had  been  in  correspondence  with 
Mr.  Abbott  for  some  time,  and  was  awaiting  his  oppor 
tunity  to  speak :  Fessenden  was  a  delicate  subject. 

"I  have  been  thinking  it  over,"  he  said.  "Of  course 
your  father's  wish — and  mine — has  been  that  you  should 
go  to  Harvard,  but  in  the  few  years  since  I  left  college 
things  have  changed  so  in  America — I  am  not  old  as 
years  go,  and  judging  from  the  occasional  newspaper  and 
magazine  that  comes  my  way,  the  world  seems  to  have 
run  by  me."  He  spoke  hesitatingly,  as  if  the  subject 
had  been  presented  to  him  too  abruptly,  after  all;  and 
Fessenden,  who  did  not  count  patience  among  his  virt 
ues,  beat  a  roll-call  on  the  window-pane.  The  woods 
were  green  and  warm;  Pocahontas  was  making  imperi 
ous  little  motions  on  the  lake.  A  hint,  a  stimulus,  was 
all  he  expected  from  Morris;  the  final  solution  would  be 
found  in  solitude. 

"Why  not  Harvard?"  he  asked,  as  Morris  continued 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

to  look  out  upon  the  world  in  mute  reproach.  "Of 
course  I  expect  to  go  to  Harvard.  And  my  father  says 
the  world's  all  right." 

"Whatever  is  is  right.  I  am  philosopher  enough  to 
believe  that— but  this  is  the  point:  the  great  universities, 
like  Harvard,  are  for  the  sons  of  rich  men,  or  at  all 
events  for  those  of  that  privileged  class  who  do  not  have 
to  enter  into  the  great  struggle  the  moment  they  grad 
uate.  If  you  had  even  a  small  income,  and  purposed  to 
become  a  man  of  letters,  if  you  had  in  you  the  makings 
of  a  professor  or  a  clergyman,  I  should  say  Harvard  with 
out  hesitation,  even  though  you  would  have  to  skimp 
through  in  a  manner  that  is  very  humiliating  to  a  gen 
tleman;  but  I  have  studied  you  closely  now  for  seven 
years,  and  I  cannot  associate  you  with  any  of  the  old- 
fashioned  callings.  You  are  peculiarly  energetic  and 
practical.  You  have  tremendous  ideals,  but  you  would 
never  have  the  patience  to  angle  for  them  in  an  ink-pot, 
and  you  have  too  much  common-sense  to  stump  the 
world  as  a  propagandist.  The  way  for  you  to  achieve 
great  ends  is  through  the  medium  of  money — no  one  in 
this  country  to-day  respects  anything  as  much— and 
through  that  medium  you  could  make  yourself  under 
stood  at  once,  and  have  what  following  you  chose.  It 
seems  to  me  that  you  could  make  money  in  very  large 
amounts — you  were  born  with  concentration,  obstinacy, 
and  industry;  you  must  excel  in  all  you  undertake  or 
burn  to  ashes  in  the  attempt,  and  you  have  an  un 
commonly  good  brain.  Of  course  I  have  only  been  able 
to  cultivate  its  intellectual  part,  and  there  are  a  thou 
sand  things  you  must  study  in  the  next  few  years — men, 
your  country,  other  countries,  the  great  industrial,  finan 
cial,  commercial,  and  political  problems  which  make 
up  the  machinery  of  the  world.  Now,  if  you  were  merely 
to  be  a  dilettante  in  these  matters,  I  should  again  say 

47 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

Harvard;  but  as  it  seems  to  me  that  you  were  born  to 
take  an  active  part  in  the  great  world  problems,  and  as 
you  have  your  living  to  make,  I  have  thought  it  ex 
pedient  to  suggest  the  University  of  the  Northwest— 
He  paused  again  and  turned  away  his  head;  the  polite 
scholar  loathed  the  thought  of  the  Western  college.  As 
Fessenden  stared  at  him  in  earnest  attention,  he  pro 
ceeded,  in  a  moment. 

"  It  is  quite  a  remarkable  institution  in  a  way,  and  very 
cheap.  As  it  is  in  a  small  Western  town,  living  costs  next 
to  nothing;  and  as  it  is  not  patronized  by  rich  men's 
sons,  the  scale  of  living  is  very  low — there  are  no  expen 
sive  clubs  and  other  constant  demands.  Of  course  it  is 
your  duty  to  consider  this,  as  well  as  the  more  complete 
freedom  which  it  would  give  you.  It  is  my  private 
opinion  that  the  great  colleges  are  no  place  for  a  man 
who  cannot  spend  money  like  a  gentleman.  If  my 
father  had  lost  his  money  earlier  I  should  not  have  gone 
to  Harvard." 

"Well,  what  should  I  get  at  this  Western  university 
that  would  send  me  straight  from  the  log- cabin  to  Alad 
din's  cave — it  used  to  be  the  White  House." 

"That  is  what  you  would  decide  after  you  had  been 
there  a  year  or  two.  The  point  is  that  you  would  find 
there  special  courses  on  electricity,  mechanics,  banking, 
transportation,  agriculture,  international  relations,  poli 
tics,  all  the  industrial  problems.  Through  some  one  of 
these  great  modern  avenues  you  will  make  your  way  to 
wealth,  and  you  will  have  the  inestimable  advantage  of 
starting  from  the  ground  up — of  mastering,  for  instance, 
.all  the  details  of  a  machine-shop,  of  an  engine,  of  rail 
way  tracks,  of  the  progressive  development  of  that 
most  mysterious  of  all  forces,  electricity,  while  your 
mind  is  still  plastic.  There  is  still  another  reason  for 
making  yourself  familiar  with  all  these  things  while  you 

48 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

are  young  and  enthusiastic — even  if  you  happened  to 
make  your  money  in  some  field  outside  them  all."  He 
hesitated  again,  but  proceeded  almost  immediately,  and 
in  the  tone  of  a  man  resolute  to  pursue  any  subject  as 
far  as  analysis  would  take  him.  "  Suppose,  for  instance, 
you  should  make  a  very  great  fortune,  modern  condi 
tions  would  place  you  in  the  most  complex  relations 
with  all  the  subjects  which  this  university  specializes. 
You  would  be  elected  upon  the  boards  of  companies 
without  end,  perhaps  become  president,  vice-president, 
of  others;  and,  as  a  rule,  directors  know  next  to  nothing 
of  the  industries  over  which  they  preside;  employers 
know  too  little  of  what  is  a  b  c  to  the  men  under  them. 
Railroad  presidents  cannot  know  too  much  about  me 
chanics  and  electricity  if  they  want  to  pay  heavier  divi 
dends  than  their  rivals — in  a  word,  it  is  the  millionaire 
who  knows  most  of  those  subjects  of  which  most  million 
aires  know  nothing  who  rules  all  the  other  millionaires. 
You  see,  I  have  let  my  imagination  run  away  with  me — 
I  already  saw  you  aloft  on  a  gold  pedestal.  Perhaps 
I  am  too  sanguine  for  you — one  dreams  much  when  one 
lives  the  solitary  life — " 

"The  millionaire  proposition  seems  to  me  a  good  deal 
of  a  come-down  after  all  my  fine  dreams  and  ambitions, 
but  if  it's  the  short  cut —  I  haven't  much  patience — 
Is  money  really  so  easy  to  make?" 

"There  is  nothing  less  easy  to  make.  My  argument  is 
that  you  are  one  of  the  few  who  could  make  it  if  you 
would." 

"Well,  the  harder  the  better.  I  wouldn't  give  a  red 
cent  for  anything  that  could  be  had  for  the  asking." 

Again  Morris  turned  his  head  and  stared  into  the  fire. 
He  heartily  wished  that  Mr.  Abbott  had  come  up  and 
done  his  own  talking. 

"Your  life  is  likely  to  be  strenuous  enough,"  he  said, 
4  49 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

after  a  pause.  "When  you  are  rich — if  you  ever  are — 
you  will  work  as  hard,  if  not  harder,  than  before.  Will 
you  think  over  what  I  have  said  about  this  university, 
and  write  to  your  father?  He  told  me  once  that  he 
should  leave  the  matter  to  you;  but,  of  course,  he  must 
know  soon,  as  you  could  enter  any  college  this  autumn." 
"  I  do  not  need  to  think  it  over.  How  long  do  you  sup 
pose  it  takes  me  to  make  up  my  mind  ?  I  shall  go  to  the 
Western  University." 

XII 

He  started  early  in  September,  accompanied  by  Morris, 
who  now  confessed  that  he  had  long  pined  for  the  orange 
groves,  the  perpetual  sunshine  of  southern  California; 
and  as  far  as  the  station  by  the  stoical  but  cheerless 
Jeff.  Christina  embarrassed  him  by  a  farewell  embrace 
and  a  tear,  while  promising  him  a  monthly  box  of  good 
things.  Morris  requested  him  to  take  no  clothes  but  those 
he  was  obliged  to  wear,  but  he  stuffed  his  sweaters  among 
his  books;  he  could  imagine  himself  permanently  in  no 
less  elastic  envelope.  In  spite  of  remonstrance  he  also 
packed  his  axe.  He  was  quick  and  eager  for  the  change, 
and,  with  the  ingratitude  of  man,  left  even  Pocahontas 
with  little  reluctance ;  his  imagination  pictured  the  great 
gates  of  the  world  at  the  foot  of  the  Adirondacks ;  and  at 
last  he  was  to  pass  through  them  and  into  that  infinite 
beyond  where  all  dreams  were  realities. 

Morris  had  chosen  the  night  train  for  obvious  reasons ; 
and  when  they  reached  the  station  in  New  York  he 
hurried  his  young  mountaineer  into  a  cab  and  drove  to 
the  best  of  the  tailors,  who  met  the  immediate  demand. 
The  necessary  autumn  and  winter  wardrobe  he  bought 
for  his  charge  called  forth  a  vigorous  remonstrance; 
Fessenden  had  never  imagined  such  reckless  extrava- 

5° 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

gance;  but  when  his  mentor  had  reassured  him,  he  fur 
ther  indulged  himself  in  several  sweaters.  He  was  the 
proud  possessor  of  a  hundred  dollars,  made  in  sugar,  and 
his  fingers  tingled  with  the  new  pleasure  of  spending. 

From  the  shop  they  drove  directly  back  to  the  station 
to  catch  the  morning  train  for  the  West.  Fessenden 
grumbled,  for  he  wanted  to  see  New  York;  every  nerve 
had  sprung  to  greet  the  great  city,  and  he  hung  out  of 
the  cab  in  spite  of  remonstrances  and  to  the  amusement 
of  passers-by. 

"I  know  how  you  feel,"  said  Morris.  "I  should  like 
it  myself,  but  I  dare  not  linger  in  New  York  an  hour — 
its  air  is  fatal  to  me — so  near  the  Atlantic — you  will  see 
enough  of  New  York  in  the  future — I  am  sure  you  will 
not  mind."  And  Fessenden  submitted  with  what  grace 
he  could  muster.  As  they  were  standing  in  the  station 
awaiting  the  announcement  of  their  train,  Fessenden,  to 
the  alarm  of  Morris,  suddenly  darted  from  his  side  and 
disappeared  in  the  crowd.  Morris  suspected  the  cause 
and  turned  pale  with  anxiety.  The  color  the  mountains 
had  given  him  came  back  as  he  saw  his  charge  returning 
alone.  Fessenden's  face,  however,  was  flushed,  his  eyes 
were  as  bright  as  tears. 

"I  saw  my  father!"  he  exclaimed,  with  a  complete  dis 
regard  of  the  bystanders  that  was  quite  superb.  "I 
know  I  saw  him !  Why  does  he  act  like  this  ?  I  was  sure 
he  would  come  to  meet  me.  Why  should  he  look  at  me 
and  go  away?" 

''It  could  not  have  been  Mr.  Abbott,"  said  Morris 
soothingly,  and  taking  his  arm  he  hurried  him  through 
the  open  gates.  "It  is  doubtful  if  he  is  in  New  York, 
and  he  is  not  the  man  to  do  anything  so  silly  and  senti 
mental.  He  is  very  busy  working  out  some  idea  which 
requires  all  his  energies — he  dares  venture  upon  no  dis 
traction — there,  I  have  told  you  that  much — your  un- 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

erring  instinct  has  kept  you  from  doubting  that  he  loves 
you." 

"Is  he  an  inventor?"  asked  Fessenden  eagerly.  "Is 
that  the  mystery?  Is  that  the  reason  he  wants  me  to 
study  all  these  new  things — that  I  may  be  of  use  to 
him?" 

"Well,  he  is  something  of  an  inventor,  and  you  cer 
tainly  can  be  of  great  use  to  him — more  than  anybody 
on  earth  can  be." 

"Why  didn't  you  tell  me  that  before?  Now  I  have 
a  double  object.  I'll  work  like  a  logger.  What's  his 
line?" 

Morris  groaned;  but  as  he  disposed  his  hand-baggage 
neatly  about  him  he  had  another  inspiration.  "All!" 
he  announced.  "That  is  to  say,  a  combination  of  all 
this  very  modern  university  can  teach  you.  The  result 
may  be  extraordinary." 

Fessenden  fell  back  on  his  seat  and  stared  out  of  the 
window,  seeing  nothing.  His  imagination  was  fired 
with  the  vision  of  his  lonely  potential  devoted  father 
experimenting  in  obscurity  with  a  revolutionizing  idea, 
whose  bare  elementary  threads — awaiting  himself  in  the 
Northwest  —  filled  him  with  such  excitement  and  ex 
hilaration  that  he  wanted  to  get  out  and  race  the  train. 
Fortunately  his  deep  emotions  always  rendered  him 
speechless,  and  Morris  was  permitted  to  sleep  peace 
fully  during  the  greater  part  of  the  journey. 


XIII 

Although  Morris  had  never  reached  the  heart-strings 
of  his  pupil,  the  youth  was  his  one  human  interest— 
his  father  was  dead  long  since;  and  as  Fessenden  fully 
realized  his  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  capable  and  con- 

52 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

scientious  tutor,  as  well  as  being  a  person  in  whom  habit 
struck  long  roots,  the  parting  was  unexpectedly  affect 
ing.  As  Fessenden  returned  from  the  station  of  the 
little  town  of  Turbine,  where  he  was  to  spend  the  greater 
part  of  the  next  four  years,  he  suddenly  conceived  a 
violent  antipathy  for  his  new  surroundings,  and  a  desire 
to  flee  back  to  his  mountains.  This  flat  interminable 
prairie,  this  cheap  town,  not  an  elevation  in  sight,  much 
less  the  mountains  which  had  gone  far  into  the  modelling 
of  his  nature — there  was  nothing  here  resembling  the 
great  world  of  which  he  had  dreamed.  He  longed  for 
real  solitude,  feeling  for  the  first  time  the  miserable  sub 
stitute  the  crowd  offers;  and  suddenly  understood  how 
much  closer  to  the  great  realities  of  life  it  brings  a  man 
than  any  actual  juxtaposition. 

But  in  a  few  days  he  was  too  busy  and  interested  for 
either  homesickness  or  dreams.  Morris  had  drilled  him 
so  thoroughly  in  English,  the  dead  languages,  German, 
French,  in  history  and  mathematics,  that  he  could  have 
entered  Yale  or  Harvard  with  sails  spread,  and  in  the 
younger  university  he  took  a  rank  at  once  which  gave 
him  the  more  time  for  the  course  known  as  ' '  Training  for 
Business."  Almost  immediately  it  seemed  to  him  that 
sleeping  things  rose  in  his  brain,  things  whose  existence 
he  had  never  suspected,  and  strove  to  put  themselves  in 
touch  with  inspiring  forces  without.  Fessenden,  who 
had  made  up  his  mind  to  place  himself  in  a  neutral  re 
ceptive  state,  to  give  no  more  thought  to  the  future  and 
to  ambition  until  he  had  learned  all  that  the  university 
could  teach  him,  was  some  time  recognizing  that  these 
new-comers  were  talents,  and  that  they  responded  to  all 
that  was  inventive  and  practical  in  his  initial  course. 

He  recognized  them  in  time,  however,  as  day  by  day 
he  grew  more  absorbed  in  the  mysteries  of  the  engine 
and  electricity;  and  the  glimpses  he  had,  in  his  first 

53 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

year,  of  finance  and  political  economy  stirred  him  like 
old  love  -  letters.  His  imagination  idealized  and  per 
sonified  the  engine  he  worked  upon  as  it  had  his  canoe; 
and  on  the  day  when  he  finally  mastered  the  difficult 
art  of  taking  it  to  pieces  and  putting  it  together  again 
without  help  or  hitch,  he  challenged  the  strong  man  of 
the  college  to  combat,  and  polished  him  off  with  such 
enthusiasm  that  once  more  he  occupied  the  proud  posi 
tion  of  champion.  This  satisfied  his  masculine  vanity, 
besides  delivering  him  from  the  chaffing  and  petty  per 
secutions  provoked  by  his  mountain  hues ;  he  was  hence 
forth  permitted  to  indulge  his  passion  for  sweaters  and 
old  hats,  even  on  Sundays,  unchallenged,  while  his  re 
markable  abilities  were  as  frankly  acknowledged. 

The  military  drill  did  not  give  him  enough  exercise, 
and  he  had  promised  his  father  he  would  waste  no  time 
on  sport.  "Your  passion  to  excel,"  Mr.  Abbott  had 
written,  "would  make  you  neglect  your  studies;  so  be 
wise  and  get  your  exercise  some  other  way."  Fessen- 
den  was  feeling  nervous  and  somewhat  confused  one 
Friday  afternoon  when  he  suddenly  bethought  himself 
of  his  axe.  He  brought  it  forth,  fingered  it  lovingly  in 
a  rush  of  memories,  then  shouldered  it  and  started  for 
the  open  country.  He  was  not  long  finding  a  farmer 
who  was  willing  to  have  his  wood  cut  for  nothing,  and 
thereafter  Fessenden  spent  an  hour  every  evening  and 
half  of  Saturday,  either  felling  Mr.  Lunt's  trees  or  saw 
ing  his  logs ;  and  the  exercise  relieved  his  brain  and  kept 
his  muscles  hard. 

The  military  drill  not  only  dismissed  his  mountain 
slouch  and  gave  him  a  free  and  upright  carriage,  but  in 
spired  him  with  dreams  of  war  and  glory.  The  martial 
music  quickened  his  blood,  and  secretly  he  fancied  him 
self  very  much  in  his  uniform.  It  was  not  long  before 
he  became  restless  in  the  ranks  and  announced  to  the 

54 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

West  Point  officer  in  charge  his  desire  to  become  cap 
tain.  The  officer  stared,  laughed,  then  reminded  him 
that  military  rank  was — as  a  rule — or  should  be  (he  was 
a  victim  of  politics  himself),  the  result  of  superior  ac 
complishments  and  talents,  to  say  naught  of  hard  work. 
Thereafter,  three  times  a  week  during  two  of  the  after 
noon  hours,  Fessenden  dismissed  books  and  machinery 
from  his  brain  and  concentrated  that  energetic  instru 
ment  upon  military  drill  alone. 

But  he  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  time  and  thought 
in  the  shops  and  yards.  Aside  from  the  ambition  and 
the  superabundant  energy  which  prompted  him  to  excel 
in  all  he  undertook,  his  imagination  was  absorbed  in  the 
rapture  of  unravelling  certain  mysteries  of  science — 
was  at  work  on  far-distant  but  great  and  picturesque 
results.  He  was  in  no  hurry  to  invent,  but  even  while 
signalling  and  switching  at  night  he  saw  trains  of  un 
imaginable  beauty  and  grace  and  lightness  skim  by  in 
the  dark,  and  great  fleets  of  ships,  invincible  and  terrible 
in  war,  forcing  the  Monroe  Doctrine  down  the  throat  of 
Europe,  perhaps  annexing  the  rotten  old  monarchies 
altogether.  That  the  red  hair  of  a  daughter  of  the 
Caesars  would  one  day  entangle  itself  in  his  wondrous 
electrical  stores,  and  jerk  them  far  afield,  he  did  not 
forebode  then,  poor  Fessenden;  he  was  happy  in  his 
dreams  and  ideals. 

XIV 

As  the  college  year  was  drawing  to  its  close  he  received 
the  following  letter  from  his  father: 

"Mv  DEAR  BOY, — I  am  sorry  to  be  obliged  to  inform  you  that 
you  must  manage  somehow  to  pay  your  own  expenses  during 
the  remaining  three  years  at  the  university.  Five  hundred  dol 
lars  a  year  are  a  good  deal,  and  you  are  younger  than  I  am,  re 
member.  I  can  let  you  have  a  hundred,  but  that  is  all,  and  I 

55 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

have  every  confidence  that  you  will  be  able  to  make  the  rest  for 
yourself.  Perhaps  you  may  imagine  what  it  means  to  me  to 
reflect  that  I  have  such  a  son  to  lean  on  in  my  old  age !  I  know 
of  no  man  living  that  I  envy.  I  am  informed  of  your  progress, 
and  I  am  proud  of  you  beyond  the  power  of  any  poor  words  of 
mine  to  express.  Your  affectionate  FATHER." 

For  the  moment  Fessenden  was  shocked  and  bewil 
dered;  but  not  only  did  the  subtlety  of  Mr.  Abbott's 
letter  begin  its  work  at  once,  but  his  mettle  flew  to  its 
opportunity.  He  promptly  turned  to  with  that  abso 
lute  lack  of  doubt  which,  in  a  man  well  equipped,  com 
pels  success.  There  were  a  number  of  relatively  wealthy 
men  in  the  university  whose  patriotism  for  the  West 
and  contempt  for  the  effete  East  had  led  them,  or  their 
fathers,  to  patronize  the  home  institution.  Fessenden 
imperiously  persuaded  these  men  that  they  needed  a 
course  of  practical  lessons  in  forestry  and  longed  for  a 
summer  in  camp  in  the  Adirondacks  not  far  from  the 
cooking  of  Christina.  The  summer  was  pleasant  and 
profitable  for  all,  but  particularly  for  Fessenden,  who 
found  many  hours  to  dream  alone  among  his  mountains 
and  into  the  sympathetic  ear  of  Pocahontas.  She  was 
haughty  and  evasive  for  several  days  after  his  enthusi 
astic  arrival,  turned  him  over  twice,  and  took  advantage 
of  every  abstraction  to  make  for  submerged  stumps  and 
shore.  But  having  made  him  sufficiently  miserable, 
she  gradually  restored  him  to  favor,  and  the  old  happy 
bond  was  re-established.  But  although  he  was  glad  of 
the  long  hours  of  rest  and  of  pondering  over  the  world 
of  science  into  which  he  had  been  precipitated  by  the 
intuition  and  foresight  of  his  father,  he  was  soon  eager 
to  get  back  to  the  practical  application.  He  returned 
to  the  university  with  half  the  money  he  needed,  and 
he  could  easily  make  up  the  remainder  by  coaching. 
The  day  after  his  return  he  walked  out  to  Mr.  Lunt's 

56 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

and  announced  his  intention  of  living  with  him  and  pay 
ing  for  his  board  with  his  axe,  or  in  any  other  reasonable 
manner.  The  farmer  was  taken  aback,  and  somewhat 
displeased  at  the  idea  of  paying  for  what  he  had  grown 
accustomed  to  accept  as  his  right;  but  finally  admitted 
the  justice  of  Fessenden's  argument,  especially  as  he  had 
no  such  enthusiast  for  hard  labor  on  his  farm.  Shortly 
after,  Fessenden,  in  a  burst  of  adolescent  pride,  returned 
his  father's  contribution,  having  persuaded  his  forestry 
class  that  tfcey  needed  private  lessons  in  German,  which 
in  truth  they  did,  although  they  enjoyed  the  study  of 
Fessenden  more.  They  never  connected  him  with  the 
author  of  his  being,  but  they  thought  him  unique  and 
perennially  interesting.  Occasionally  they  marvelled  at 
his  sublime  audacity,  a  quality  as  a  rule  born  of  the  easy 
assurance  of  wealth  and  social  position,  particularly 
when  well-bred  and  unconscious;  but  they  never  got 
beyond  the  conclusion  that  it  was  the  result  of  an  un 
usual  brain  and  a  gift  for  leadership.  That  he  should 
become  the  captain  of  his  company  before  the  end  of 
his  first  year,  and  prove  an  ardent  disciplinarian,  did 
not  so  much  surprise  them;  but  his  talents  were  less 
easy  to  account  for,  and  those  interested  in  heredity 
approached  him  on  the  subject.  Fessenden  was  deter 
mined  to  keep  his  father's  secret,  whatever  it  might  be; 
and  as  he  could  be  diplomatic  when  diplomacy  seemed 
more  advisable  than  throwing  an  impertinent  man  out 
of  the  window,  he  sent  the  curious  away  with  the  im 
pression  that  he  came  of  plain  mountain  people. 


XV 

During  this  year  he  took  up  modern  history,  the  de 
velopment  of  railway  intercourse  in  Europe  and  America, 

57 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

and  pursued  his  studies  and  experiments  of  the  previous 
year  with  unabated  ardor.  He  likewise  became  violent 
ly  interested  in  politics,  and  let  off  a  good  deal  of  steam 
in  public  speaking.  He  also  took  up  the  cudgels  for  the 
East,  partly  because  his  father  was  a  New-Yorker,  part 
ly  because  in  this  attitude  he  stood  practically  alone. 
Privately  he  thought  the  West  had  cause  for  grievance 
in  the  absurd  and  ignorant  attitude  of  the  East;  but  it 
was  impossible  for  him  to  run  with  the  majority,  and 
there  certainly  was  much  to  be  said  for  the  older  civili 
zation.  The  question  of  strikes  and  all  the  manifesta 
tions  of  the  antagonism  between  capital  and  labor  did  not 
engage  his  attention  until  the  following  year;  and  when 
it  did  his  sympathies  were  entirely  with  the  poor  man, 
as  he  informed  his  father  in  long  and  impassioned  letters. 
In  answer,  Mr.  Abbott  invariably  reminded  him  that  as 
yet  he  knew  nothing  of  the  rich,  and  advised  him  to 
suspend  judgment.  But  although  Fessenden  by  this 
time  was  an  intolerant  democrat,  wore  his  oldest  sweat 
ers,  and  even  persuaded  Miss  Lunt  to  patch  his  trousers, 
there  was  something  curiously  aristocratic  in  his  atti 
tude  and  personality,  which  his  associates  felt  rather 
than  analyzed.  There  was  not  a  man  in  the  college  who 
would  have  dared  to  emulate  his  utter  disregard  of  ap 
pearance,  his  indifference  to  comment  on  the  streets  of 
Turbine,  the  catholicity  of  his  acquaintance,  the  man 
ner  in  which  he  ignored  the  very  existence  of  those  he 
did  not  like,  the  recklessness  with  which  he  thought  out 
loud,  apparently  unconscious  that  anything  could  affect 
his  standing,  popularity,  and  reputation,  and  the  inde 
finable  touch  of  patronage  in  his  most  extreme  democ 
racy.  And  although  even  at  that  period,  when  he  was 
full  of  vanity,  he  did  not  swagger,  still  it  was  noticeable 
that  he  carried  himself  as  if  the  world  were  his.  He 
made  enemies,  but  he  either  fought  them  or  accepted 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

them  with  philosophy,  and  he  had  an  army  of  disciples, 
who  followed  his  imaginative  flights  and  his  most  rad 
ical  theories  to  the  bitter  end. 

But  his  fellow-men  interested  Fessenden  less  at  this 
period  than  the  wonderful  excursions  he  was  making 
daily  into  the  new  realms  of  thought  and  research.  It 
was  during  the  middle  of  the  third  year  that  he  gave  him 
self  up  more  particularly  to  the  study  of  finance,  the  de 
velopment  of  banking,  and  political  economy.  He  pur 
sued  these  studies  with  a  curious  sense  of  reviving  old 
memories ;  he  surprised  himself  at  his  love  of  dry  details — 
that  even  here  his  imagination  saw  picturesqueness  in 
the  possibilities  of  concentrating  vast  sums  of  money  and 
yet  filling  the  veins  of  a  great  country  with  a  life-blood 
of  liquid  gold.  During  his  democratic  madness  he  had 
seriously  doubted  whether  his  conscience  would  permit 
him  to  be  a  rich  man ;  but  now,  with  a  chastened  yet  no 
less  sincere  democracy,  he  made  up  his  mind  that  for  a 
man  of  the  people  to  acquire  millions  and  then  use  them 
for  the  amelioration  of  his  less -gifted  fellows,  to  say 
nothing  of  glorifying  his  country,  was  both  wise  and 
poetical.  Having  satisfied  his  mind  on  this  point,  he 
astonished  the  university  and  Turbine  by  appearing  at 
church  in  a  suit  of  clothes  not  only  of  harmoniously  as 
sorted  pieces,  but  manifestly  made  to  order.  He  sus 
tained  the  balance  by  looking  worse  than  usual  during 
the  week. 

In  the  vacation  preceding  Fessenden 's  fourth  year  the 
university  received,  from  a  source  which  was  to  remain 
unknown  to  all  but  the  president,  a  large  bequest  for 
the  departments  of  banking  and  finance.  The  bequest 
was  accompanied  by  the  condition  that  during  the  en 
suing  year  certain  eminent  authorities  were  to  be  asked 
to  lecture.  Somewhat  to  the  surprise  but  greatly  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  faculty,  invitations  to  lecture  were 

59 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

promptly  accepted  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  the 
President  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  the  owner  of  a 
great  department  store,  and  three  leading  bank  presi 
dents.     These  gentlemen  did  not  confine  themselves  to 
generalities;  they  described  the  practical  workings  of 
their  respective  systems,  enriched  by  a  wealth  of  com 
parison  with  corresponding  systems  in  other  countries- 
they  pointed  out  the  defects  and  disadvantages  of  both 
sides,  and  analyzed  the  causes  of  the  remarkable  progress 
of  so  young  a  country  as  the  United  States;  they  em 
phasized  the  necessity  of  a  sleepless  alertness,  and  the 
demand  for  new  ideas  which  should  be  bold  without 
recklessness   and   safe  without  conservatism.      Fessen- 
den  listened  with  tingling  nerves  and  legs  moving  rest 
lessly.     He  wrote  to  his  father  that  he  regarded  this 
timely  benefaction  as  a  direct  interposition  of  Providence 
in  his  behalf,  and  that  although  he  certainly  had  to  work 
harder  than  any  one  in  the  world,  he  believed  that  he  had 
been  born  under  a  star  of  remarkable  magnitude.     His 
ambitions  had  revived  long  since.     He  had  in  his  imag 
ination  a  union  of  steel  and  electricity  so  madly  romantic 
that  he  dared  not  confide  even  in  his  father.     He  must 
make  a  large  sum  of  money  first,  for  he  would  trust  no 
one  with  his  secret.     He  believed  that  he  could  make  his 
country  invincible,  the  ruler,  if  she  chose,  of  two  hem 
ispheres,  and  he  looked  back  somewhat  patronizingly 
upon  his  old  heroes.     Other  times,  other  gods!     The 
pendulum  in  him  was  still  swinging  ..wildly,  the  balance 
was  not  yet;  but  the  depth  and  tenacity  of  purpose,  the 
clear  creative  intellect,  quick  and  versatile  in  grasp,' and 
of  an  extraordinary  energy;   the  high  enthusiasm' and 
real  capacity  for  the  passion  of  patriotism  were  all  mod 
elling  and  biding  their  time  within  the  exterior  made  up 
of  their  defects. 

So  passed  the  four  years,  with  their  intervals  of  moun- 

60 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

tain-life,  when,  in  spite  of  his  ever -increasing  class 
es,  he  drew  renewed  strength  and  courage  from  sol 
itude  and  the  invigorating  air  of  high  altitudes.  Hard 
work  told  little  on  him,  for  his  body  was  full  of  red 
mountain  -  blood  and  clamped  with  magnificent  mus 
cles. 

He  hoped  that  his  father  would  come  and  witness  his 
triumphs  of  Commencement  Day,  but  he  received  this 
letter  instead: 

"Mv  DEAR  BOY, — It  is  a  matter  of  very  great  regret  to  me 
that  I  cannot  be  with  you  at  this  time,  but  I  will  explain  my  ab 
sence  to  your  entire  satisfaction  when  we  meet.  Thank  God 
that  will  be  almost  immediately.  At  a  very  bitter  price  to  my 
self  I  have  relentlessly  pursued  a  plan  conceived  the  day  after 
your  mother's  death;  and  my  compensation  so  far  has  been  its 
entire  success.  Will  you  come  to  New  York  on  Monday?  It 
had  been  my  intention  to  meet  you  in  the  Adirondacks  and  tell 
my  story  there,  for  I  dislike  anything  savoring  of  drama,  but 
business  imperatively  commands  me  to  stay  here,  and  I  must 
ask  you  to  come  to  me.  I  have  sent  for  Pocahontas.  I  enclose 
a  postal  order  for  a  hundred  dollars.  May  I  ask  you  not  to  arrive 
in  a  sweater?  New  York  is  not  Turbine.  Moreover,  a  natural 
weakness  makes  me  wish  to  see  you,  after  so  many  years,  at  the 
best  possible  advantage. 

"Your  very  affectionate 

"FATHER." 

Fessenden  pondered  over  this  letter.  It  was  enig 
matic,  and  Mr.  Abbott's  brief  communications  were 
usually  remarkable  for  their  clarity.  He  had  made  up 
his  mind  four  years  ago  that  his  father  was  an  inventor, 
and  denuded  him  of  all  mystery.  It  also  occurred  to 
him  with  startling  abruptness  that  he  had  never  seen  his 
father's  signature.  As  he  stood  staring  at  the  paper, 
shadowy  images,  impressions,  chance  words,  blurred 
pictures  rose  from  some  forgotten  well  in  his  mind,  en 
deavored  to  sharpen,  to  cohere;  but  they  faded  away 

61 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

impotently;  the  vital  interests  of  the  morrow  rushed  in 
and  claimed  place;  he  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  sent 
his  father  a  telegram. 

XVI 

"Fess,"  said  Jeremiah  Keene,  on  the  night  of  Com 
mencement  Day,  "what  are  you  going  to  do  with  your 
self?  You  are  the  most  expansive — nay,  sentimental 
and  emotional  creature  on  one  side  of  you,  and  on  the 
other  the  most  secretive!  I've  turned  myself  inside  out 
to  you  over  and  over  again.  You  know  all  my  hopes, 
aspirations,  plans — who  doesn't?  What  have  I  been 
digging  away  at  this  school  of  mines  for?  But  you've 
gone  in  for  everything,  distinguished  yourself  in  pretty 
nearly  everything — and  we  are  none  the  wiser.  In 
these  days  you've  got  to  be  one  thing — one  thing — 
there's  no  chance  for  any  but  the  specialist,  and  you 
are  as  well  aware  of  that  as  any  one  else.  So  I  know, 
we  all  know,  that  you  must  have  made  up  your  mind — 
that  you  know  what  you  are  about.  It  isn't  only  curi 
osity  that  prompts  me  to  ask  for  your  secret — there  is 
no  necessity  for  maunderings  on  my  part.  I'd  like  to 
know;  we  may  not  meet  again  for  years — you  go  East, 
I  go  West — I've  never  taken  a  liberty  with  you  before; 
forgive  me  this." 

Fessenden  made  no  reply  for  a  moment.  He  was 
spending  his  last  night  in  Turbine  in  the  rooms  of  his 
chum.  The  day  had  been  crowded  with  triumphs.  He 
was  dazzled,  elated,  a  trifle  bewildered.  Compliments 
and  flattering  predictions  had  fallen  thick  upon  him. 
The  president  had  congratulated  him  publicly,  invited 
him  to  dinner  to  meet  the  distinguished  guests,  and  he 
had  been  the  only  student  so  honored.  Among  the 
guests  were  several  of  the  eminent  men  who  had  con- 

62 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

descended  to  illuminate  the  university  during  the  past 
year,  and  they  had  singled  out  Fessenden  and  paid  him 
such  marked  attentions,  besides  interrogating  him  so 
closely  as  to  his  interest  in  his  more  important  studies, 
that  both  faculty  and  students,  highly  as  they  thought 
of  their  star,  were  astonished:  the  successful  self-made 
American  takes  very  little  interest  in  unmade  futures. 
It  was  a  great  and  notable  tribute  to  personality,  and 
Fessenden 's  chest  had  risen  and  his  head  bulged  more 
than  once.  He  was  feeling  his  strength  at  every  nerve- 
point,  he  knew  himself  to  be  ready  to  go  out  and  con 
quer  the  world  at  once ;  his  mind  had  flashed  back  dur 
ing  the  exciting  day  to  the  long  course  of  training,  from 
his  babyhood  until  this  last  week  of  his  twenty-first  year, 
which  had  modelled  his  inherited  forces  in  brain  and 
character,  slowly  and  safely,  given  him  the  physical 
endurance  to  keep  pace  with  the  restless  energies  of  his 
mind.  He  was  filled  with  gratitude  for  his  father,  but 
he  also  thought  very  well  of  himself.  The  self-made 
American  was  his  type,  the  ideal  he  had  set  on  high; 
whether  born  in  a  log-cabin,  on  a  Virginia  plantation,  or 
a  romantic  British  isle,  was  immaterial.  All  the  great 
men  of  his  country  had  started  with  a  reasonable  amount 
of  poverty,  and  certainly  the  youthful  record  of  none 
was  more  brilliant  than  his.  He  had  had  his  disappoint 
ments,  his  disillusionments,  even  in  Turbine;  he  had  been 
deceived  and  tricked  and  tripped  and  hurt  like  all  men; 
but  he  lived  too  much  in  imagination,  in  the  future,  and 
his  application  to  study  had  been  too  severe  for  brood 
ing  on  the  shortcomings  of  the  world.  He  still  thought 
well  of  it,  and  his  consistent  admiration  for  his  friend 
Keene  had  gone  far  to  nurse  his  optimism.  Life  never 
did  a  kinder  thing  for  him  than  in  bestowing  so  abun 
dant  a  measure  of  contentment  in  these  last  hours  of  his 
boyhood. 

63 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

He  stood  up  in  a  moment,  turning  over  his  chair. 
Keene  was  lying  on  a  divan,  smoking.  The  lamp  was 
low.  The  windows  were  open,  but  to  silence  only.  It 
was  very  late. 

' '  Well — well — well — ' '  said  Fessenden.  ' '  I  don't  know. 
I  should  have  to  tell  you  so  much — and  my  ambitions 
are  defined  and  at  the  same  time  rather  nebulous.  You 
see,  I  have  to  find  out  just  what  my  father  wants  of  me 
first — what  he  is— 

"What  he  is?  There  is  a  mystery,  then?  You've 
bluffed  us  pretty  well." 

"I'm  no  maker  of  mysteries.  I  don't  know,  myself — 
but — and  you're  the  only  person  living  I'd  say  this  to, 
and  I'd  break  even  your  head  if  you  gave  a  hint  before 
he  was  ready — I  think  he  is  a  great  inventor  and  wanted 
me  to  have  this  training  that  I  might  help  him." 

It  was  on  the  tip  of  Keene 's  tongue  to  remark  upon  the 
uselessness  of  Mr.  Abbott's  secrecy  so  far  as  his  son  was 
concerned,  but  congratulated  himself  a  few  moments 
later  that  Fessenden  had  given  him  no  time  for  com 
ment. 

"I  have  not  seen  him  for  years,  but  not  through  lack 
of  affection — he  asked  me  to  trust  him  and  I  have  done 
so.  I  had  a  curious  letter  from  him  on  Tuesday — I  have 
thought  a  good  deal  about  it  since — and  now  that  I  am 
to  see  him  and  know  all  so  soon,  I  may  permit  myself  to 
indulge  in  curiosity.  I'll  read  it  to  you  if  you  like." 

He  held  Mr.  Abbott's  last  letter  to  the  lamp  and  read 
it  aloud;  then  plunged  his  hands  into  his  pockets,  plant 
ed  himself  squarely  on  his  feet,  and  told  Keene  of  his 
peculiar  relations  with  his  father  since  his  mother's 
death.  He  made  it  all  very  vivid;  the  brief  visits  of  Mr. 
Abbott,  the  concise  pregnant  conversations,  the  firm 
careful  finger  always  modelling  at  the  foundations  of 
his  character,  the  cleverness  and  foresight  with  which 

64 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

his  father  had  secured  the  services  of  Stanley  Morris, 
who  through  seven  monotonous  years  had  pined  for 
California.  Much  of  this  was  revealed  unconsciously  in 
the  narrative  of  his  mountain -life.  While  he  was  in  the 
midst  of  his  story  Keene  sat  up  suddenly;  a  moment 
later  interrupted  him  to  ask  for  a  description  of  Mr. 
Abbott.  Fessenden  had  answered:  "Small,  thin,  but 
with  an  immense  lot  of  presence — even  up  there  where 
one  man  is  exactly  the  same  as  another,  where  there  is 
real  equality  and  no  bluff  about  it — they  all  bowed  down 
to  him  instinctively — even  Morris,  who  is  a  deep  scholar 
and  thinker  and  belongs  to  one  of  the  best  families  in 
the  country — if  you  care  for  that  sort  of  American  rot. 
Even  when  I  was  a  little  chap  and  he  used  to  pet  and 
fondle  me,  I  could  feel  the  power  come  out  of  him,  and 
I  told  Morris  once  that  if  he  wasn't  a  rich  man  it  must 
be  his  own  fault  — he  made  you  feel  he  could  be  any 
thing  he  chose.  His  face  is  beautiful  to  me,  perhaps 
because  I  love  him,  for  Morris  remarked  rather  nastily 
once  that  he  was  not  generally  considered  a  beauty ;  but 
he  has  eyes  that  can  light  up,  and  his  face  always  changed 
for  me  anyhow,  if  it  did  look  rather  cold — perhaps  hard 
— at  other  times.  Nettlebeck  swore  once  that  it  was 
hard,  but  I  never  could  see  it.  His  features  are  well  cut, 
too,  his  nose  looks  as  if  it  could  go  through  a  stone  wall, 
and  there  is  not  an  indefinite  curve  in  his  mouth — there 
you  have  him,  as  well  as  I  can  describe  anybody." 

But  Keene,  long  since,  had  rolled  over  and  buried  his 
face  in  the  sofa  cushions. 

The  next  day,  as  the  two  men  parted  at  Chicago, 
Keene,  who  was  far  more  mature  than  Fessenden,  hav 
ing  less  of  the  eternal  boy  in  him,  put  his  arm  about  his 
friend's  shoulder  and  said  hesitatingly:  "Remember — 
there  are  terrible  disappointments  awaiting  you  out 
here  in  the  great  world — as  for  all  of  us.  Take  every- 

65 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

thing  that  comes  along  as  philosophically  as  you  can — 
everything  is  for  the  best,  I  suppose.  Above  all,  don't 
let  any  shock  imbitter  you.  I  am  sure,  I  am  sure  that 
your  father  is  all  that  you  imagine  him  to  be — that  what 
ever  he  does  in  regard  to  you — has  done — is  right.  .  .  . 
I  wish  he  were  not  so  poor,  however;  I  wish  he  were 
the  Abbott." 

"Who  is  the  Abbott?" 

"Of  course  you  never  read  the  newspapers,  and  it  is 
odd  how  he  manages  to  keep  out  of  the  illustrated  mag 
azines — I  should  think  he  must  pay  them.  The  Abbott, 
my  dear  boy,  is  richer  than  the  whole  Rothschild  outfit 
condensed  into  the  singular." 

"Well,  I'm  glad  he's  not  that  sort  of  Abbott,"  said 
Fessenden  indifferently.  "Thank  God  I  can  show  my 
mettle  and  start  from  the  ground  up." 

The  words  left  no  trail  in  Fessenden 's  mind;  the  part 
ing  which  followed  affected  him  deeply,  and  he  was  too 
excited  at  the  prospect  of  seeing  his  father  again  to  recall 
what  had  impressed  him  as  a  mere  chance  remark. 


XVII 

As  Fessenden  left  the  train  on  Monday  morning  and 
walked  down  the  long  crowded  platform  to  the  gates,  he 
was  nervous  and  happy  and  sentimental,  but  full  of 
vanity.  Not  as  the  prodigal  son  was  he  returning  to  his 
father  after  these  long  years  of  disunion.  Had  not  a 
telegram  from  the  president  of  his  university  acquainted 
Mr.  Abbott  with  his  son's  brilliant  climax?  Was  he  not 
about  to  relieve  his  parent  of  all  further  worries  and  re 
sponsibilities,  to  say  naught  of  shedding  lustre  upon  the 
family  name?  He  was  sure  that  his  father,  if  he  had 
chosen  obscurity  for  his  own  portion,  must  still  be  in  a 

66 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

position  to  give  him  advice  and  immediate  suggestion, 
of  more  value  than  gold. 

He  had  arrayed  himself  in  a  new  suit  of  summer  gray, 
and  with  considerable  satisfaction,  for  he  had  spasms  of 
personal  vanity,  although  only  death  could  separate 
him  permanently  from  the  reprobates  of  his  wardrobe. 
His  long  body  was  still  very  slight,  but  it  was  muscular 
and  lithe.  When  his  eyes  were  not  hard  or  dreamy  with 
concentrated  thought  they  were  ready  to  laugh  their  re 
sponse  into  any  friendly  eyes  they  chanced  to  meet. 
Although  as  a  rule  he  would  have  scorned  to  admit  that 
he  knew  whether  he  was  good-looking  or  not,  he  was  in 
so  gay  a  mood  this  fine  summer  morning  that  he  frankly 
accepted  admiring  glances  for  what  they  were  worth, 
and  was  glad  to  add  such  attractions  as  his  ancestors 
had  given  him  to  the  sum  he  was  about  to  present  to  one 
doting  parent.  Not  that  Fessenden  was  a  handsome 
boy;  his  present  attractiveness  lay  for  the  most  part  in 
his  youthful  armory  of  glancing  and  glinting  expressions ; 
but  his  hair  was  brown  and  bright,  his  eyes  were  blue 
and  dark,  and  his  features  cut  by  race,  not  by  chance. 
In  his  most  disreputable  alliances  with  old  clothes  he 
never  lacked  distinction,  and  to-day,  in  spite  of  the  eager 
restlessness  of  his  muscles — he  was  seldom  in  repose — 
he  was  very  naturally  mistaken  by  the  calculating  fem 
inine  mind  for  a  fledgling  of  the  privileged  class. 

His  progress  in  the  dense  crowd  was  slow,  and  his 
stride  was  naturally  long.  It  was  not  in  him  to  submit 
to  impeded  progress,  and  he  jumped  back  into  the  train 
and  made  his  way  rapidly  to  the  front  car.  As  he  sprang 
to  the  ground  near  the  gates  he  saw  his  father's  pale 
eager  face,  and  he  stiffened  suddenly  lest  he  utter  a 
mountain  whoop  or  imperil  his  dignity  in  the  feminine 
manner.  When  he  had  forced  his  way  beyond  the  bar 
riers,  he  nearly  crushed  Mr.  Abbott's  firm  bony  hand, 

67 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

then  pulled  it  through  his  arm  and  started  for  Forty- 
second  Street. 

"Come  on!  Come  on!"  he  said  through  his  teeth, 
"we  can't  say  anything  here." 

His  father  managed  to  steer  him  to  the  cab-stand,  and, 
as  they  drove  down  Madison  Avenue,  talked  rapidly  and 
somewhat  at  random.  It  was  evident  that  he  was  as 
nervous  as  his  son,  but  equally  manifest  that  he  was  full 
of  paternal  pride  and  delight.  Fessenden  gripped  his 
hand  two  or  three  times,  incoherent,  but  happy  in  the 
light  of  approval  and  the  warmth  of  an  affection  so  long 
withheld. 

The  hansom  stopped  before  an  immense  brown-stone 
house  on  a  corner,  and  Mr.  Abbott  descended,  dismissing 
the  cab.  Fessenden  wondered,  but  assumed  that  his 
father  lived  in  a  private  hotel.  It  was  his  last  moment 
of  density.  As  the  door  was  opened  by  an  elderly  butler, 
behind  whom  stood  four  footmen  in  livery,  a  band  of 
ghosts  seemed  to  race  past  his  inner  vision;  as  he  en 
tered  the  wide  hall  hung  with  tapestries,  doors  on  the 
right  and  the  left  showing  the  splendor  of  delicate  bro 
cade  and  historic  furnishing,  his  brain  experienced  a 
sharp  and  clarifying  shock.  He  had  a  dizzying  vision 
of  a  little  boy,  in  the  pride  of  his  first  trousers,  flying 
down  those  massive  banisters  and  followed  by  a  soft 
protesting  shriek.  For  a  moment  every  part  of  the 
house  seemed  to  be  pervaded  by  that  small  child  and  the 
minor  almost  querulous  chords  of  a  long-forgotten  voice. 
His  hand  shook  as  he  gave  his  hat  to  a  footman  of  pre 
ternatural  dignity,  as  he  met  the  stolid  but  recognizing 
eye  of  the  butler.  He  had  not  the  courage  to  think, 
and  he  was  white  and  almost  weak  as  he  followed  his 
father  to  the  library  at  the  back  of  the  house.  It  was  a 
great  room,  lifted  bodily  from  a  ducal  castle — books, 
pictures,  busts,  weapons — in  the  devouring  American 

68 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

fashion,  Fessenden,  after  one  glance,  fell  into  a  chair 
and  covered  his  face  with  his  hands.  He  had  torn  up 
the  papers  on  that  table  more  than  once,  tobogganed 
his  father  in  the  deep  chair  opposite. 

Mr.  Abbott  seated  himself  in  the  chair  and  grasped 
the  arms  firmly.  His  face  was  more  sallow  than  usual, 
but  his  glance  was  unwavering.  "I  see  that  you  are 
already  beginning  to  suspect — to  know,"  he  said.  "I 
will  not  insult  you  by  circumlocution,  but  make  my 
confession  at  once — 

Fessenden  emerged  suddenly  from  his  lethargy,  sprang 
to  his  feet,  and  glared  down  upon  his  father.  His  eyes 
were  almost  black,  his  nostrils  were  jerking,  and  the 
pallor  under  his  tan  made  him  look  quite  ferocious. 
"What  is  there  to  say?"  he  almost  shouted.  "I  can 
see  the  cursed  truth  plainly  enough.  You  are  a  rich 
man." 

His  father  met  his  'glare  steadily.  "I  am  the  richest 
man  in  the  world,"  he  said. 

Again  Fessenden  was  inarticulate,  and  under  this 
merciless  assault  even  his  anger  fell.  He  stared  at  his 
father  with  paling  eyes  and  coloring  face. 

"Sit  down,  will  you  not?  I  have  a  great  deal  to 
say." 

Fessenden,  bewildered  with  the  knowledge  that  he 
stood  on  the  threshold  of  an  unknown  world  which  even 
now  mocked  his  years  of  strenuous  endeavor,  resumed 
his  chair  mechanically  and  fixed  his  eyes  on  his  father's 
face  that  he  might  make  sure  he  was  hearing  facts  at 
least.  The  flattering  attentions  of  the  university  guests 
suddenly  arose  in  his  memory,  and  he  writhed  in  self- 
abasement.  He  felt  the  floor  with  the  heel  of  his  boot 
to  ascertain  if  it  were  secure  beneath  his  feet. 

"I  suppose  I  had  better  begin  at  the  beginning,"  said 
Mr.  Abbott.  "  I  saw  little  of  your  mother  after  the  first 

69 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

year  of  our  marriage.  She  was  born  in  the  world  of 
fashion,  was  a  natural  and  determined  leader;  and 
shortly  after  your  birth  she  entered  upon  a  career  of 
extravagance  which  has  seldom  been  equalled  even  in 
this  town.  It  was  a  matter  of  indifference  to  me  how 
much  money  she  spent  so  long  as  she  was  contented — 
she  was  badly  spoiled — and  as  she  was  a  beautiful  and 
clever  creature  I  was  very  proud  of  her ;  moreover,  too 
busy  to  regret  that  she  had  so  little  time  for  me.  Per 
haps  I  should  go  back  a  step  further  here  and  tell  you 
that  my  father  was  also  a  man  of  large  wealth — for  his 
day — and  of  great  importance  in  the  banking  world.  I 
was  trained  as  his  successor  from  my  earliest  years,  and 
fortunately  took  to  it  naturally.  In  those  days  the  sons 
of  rich  men  were  more  serious  than  they  are  now;  but 
I  sowed  a  few  wild  oats  before  I  settled  down,  and,  being 
of  a  delicate  constitution,  they  permanently  impaired 
my  health.  This  fact  will  enable  you  more  readily  to 
understand  my  course  in  regard  to  you. 

"  But  to  return  to  your  mother.  Naturally  she  spoiled 
you  —  badly !  You  were  never  permitted  to  draw  a 
breath  of  fresh  air  except  in  fine  weather ;  you  had  what 
ever  you  cried  for.  There  was  every  prospect  that  you 
would  grow  up — if  you  survived  childhood — the  average 
nervous  dyspeptic  American  — worse  still,  the  average 
worthless  rich  man's  son.  The  day  after  her  death,  as 
I  sat  alone  here  in  this  room,  with  you  playing  on  the 
hearthrug,  I  had  an  inspiration,  and  determined  at  once 
to  act  upon  it.  I  had  known  the  Nettlebecks  for  many 
years ;  I  was  in  the  habit  of  going  into  camp  with  several 
of  my  friends  not  far  from  their  farm.  Only  Fritz,  who 
acted  as  our  guide,  knew  that  I  was  a  rich  man,  and  I 
knew  his  capacity  for  silence.  I  had  a  sudden  vision 
of  all  you  might  become  in  that  magnificent  air,  raised 
by  frugal  but  well-living  Germans,  who  would  obey  my 

70 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

orders  to  the  letter — removed  from  all  the  debilitating 
influences  and  the  temptations  of  wealth — well!-  I  did 
not  wait  to  communicate  with  Nettlebeck.  I  whisked 
you  off  the  day  after  the  funeral,  and  without  warning 
to  grandmothers  and  aunts.  I  made  Nettlebeck  an  of 
fer  which  he  accepted  promptly,  swore  him  to  secrecy, 
and  left  you  in  that  wilderness  as  elated  as  if  I  had 
scooped  up  Wall  Street,  hard  as  it  was  to  leave  you. 
Later  came  the  fortunate  episode  of  my  conversation 
with  Stanley  Morris's  father— 

Fessenden  interrupted  him  with  a  sharp  exclamation. 
"  He,  too,  was  in  the  plot !  You  chose  your  tools  well.  I 
never  received  a  hint." 

"Morris  knew  all.  It  is  quite  true,  however,  that  he 
was  the  son  of  an  old  college  friend,  suddenly  impover 
ished,  and  that  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  live  in  a 
peculiar  atmosphere.  He  was  bent  upon  California,  but 
I  offered  him  five  thousand  a  year  to  live  at  the  Nettle- 
becks'  and  prepare  you  for  college;  also  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars  the  day  you  entered.  He  did  not  hesi 
tate;  moreover,  I  gave  him  carte  blanche  at  the  best 
bookshops  of  New  York  and  Boston,  and  offered  to  send 
to  Europe  for  anything  which  was  not  imported  through 
the  regular  channels — " 

"In  other  words,  you  bought  him  body  and  soul! 
Well,  he  was  not  much  of  a  man,  anyhow.  And  no 
wonder  he  was  so  well  fitted  to  impress  me  with  the 
value  of  money!" 

"I  have  bought  bigger  men  than  Morris,"  said  Mr. 
Abbott  dryly.  "I  own  twenty-eight  members  of  Con 
gress,  seven  of  the  most  imposing  figure-heads  of  the 
British  aristocracy,  one  sovereign,  and  several  minor 
presidents.  But  to  proceed.  So  far,  I  have  given  you 
only  my  paternal  reasons  for  your  bringing-up.  I  will 
say  little  now  of  what  the  separation  meant  to  me.  I 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

had  never  been  too  busy  to  play  with  you,  had  haunted 
the  nursery  or  had  you  brought  down  here  during  every 
hour  I  could  snatch  for  home.  As  I  saw  you  improve 
up  there  in  the  mountains,  from  a  charming  but  sickly 
baby  into  such  a  sturdy,  bright,  manly  little  chap,  it 
took  all  the  will  I  possessed  to  leave  you  behind  me 
when  I  returned.  At  last  the  effort  cost  too  much,  and 
I  dreaded  failure.  I  took  the  drastic  course  and  saw 
you  no  more.  The  day  you  left  New  York  for  the  West 
I  stole  a  glimpse  of  you  at  the  station.  Since  then  I 
have  not  seen  you  until  to-day.  During  this  last  year 
others  have  shared  my  secret  besides  Morris  and  Nettle- 
beck  —  the  president  of  your  university  and  the  close 
personal  friends  whom  you  know  only  as  prominent 
men  who  agreed  to  lecture  on  the  subjects  which  hap 
pened  to  absorb  you.  They  were  tremendously  inter 
ested  in  my  experiment,  and,  as  they  are  men  who  owe 
their  success  in  life  as  much  to  their  talent  for  keeping 
their  mouths  shut  as  to  anything  else,  I  had  no  fear  that 
they  would  betray  me.  As  for  the  president,  of  course 
I  knew  I  could  trust  him  fully.  But  enough  of  this  per 
sonal  side.  I  had  another  object  in  preserving  you  from 
the  pitfalls,  the  physically  and  mentally  debilitating  in 
fluences  of  wealth,  which  I  should  have  pursued  had  I 
been  twenty  times  less  a  father.  You  were  my  only  son, 
you  must  carry  on  the  traditions  of  our  house,  become 
the  custodian  of  millions,  of  the  vast  power  they  en 
tailed—" 

"And  suppose  your  method  has  done  its  work  too 
well,"  cried  Fessenden,  setting  his  jaw  exactly  as  his 
father  did  while  he  listened  to  his  angry  son.  "You 
know  something  of  the  results  of  your — your  intrigue, 
but  not  all.  You  know  that  I  have  developed  strength, 
power,  but  not  how  much.  You  see  only  the  obstacles 
I  have  conquered ;  you  know  nothing  of  the  ambition 

72 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

that  discipline  of  yours  has  developed  in  me — the  inspi 
rations  of  lives  of  men  of  not  dissimilar — so  far  as  I  knew 
— beginnings.  And  now!  Good  God,  I  feel  like  a  moun 
tebank!" 

"Answer  this  question,  and  not  too  hastily:  Have  I 
done  you  an  injustice?  Nothing  could  alter  the  fact  that 
I  was  a  rich  man.  Do  you  regret  that  I  did  not  run  the 
risk  first  of  your  becoming  a  sickly  spoiled  brat,  then  a 
dissipated  fool?  A  few,  a  very  few  sons  of  rich  men  in 
this  country  have  turned  out  passably  well — never  what 
their  fathers  were:  circumstances  did  not  compel  them 
to  or  go  to  the  wall ;  and  I  dared  not  tell  you — the  risk 
was  too  great.  I  could  see  no  other  way;  and,  looking 
back,  I  see  none  now." 

Fessenden  rose  and  mechanically  started  for  the  log 
in  the  grate,  but  it  was  June,  and  he  kicked  a  stool  in 
stead.  He  was  still  seething;  but  even  so,  his  sense  of 
justice  dominated  his  desire  to  indulge  to  the  full  his 
bitter  indignation  and  disappointment.  "No,"  he  said, 
after  a  moment,  "you  were  right  enough.  Doubtless 
in  time  I  shall  be  duly  grateful  to  you.  But  that  pre 
monition  does  not  mitigate  in  the  faintest  degree  what 
I  feel  now."  His  eyes  met  his  father's,  which  were 
full  of  affection  and  pride,  and  he  suddenly  descend 
ed  a  peg  or  two.  "I  don't  mind  telling  you,  sir — I  be 
lieve  you  will  not  laugh  at  me — but  I  felt — conceited 
ass  that  I  was — that  I  was  destined  to  become  a  great 
man.  I  felt  it  was  in  me  to  accomplish  anything,  be 
anything  I  set  my  brains  upon.  Of  course  it  was  all 
red  blood — the  result  of  precocious  development  in  soli 
tude,  of  the  little  successes  which  your  watchful  care 
enabled  me  to  win;  but  the  result  was  the  same  as  if  it 
had  been  the  real  thing.  I  feel  like  a  peacock  with  its 
tail  pulled  out.  And  now  please  tell  me  what  it  has  all 
been  for.  You  say  you  need  a  strong  man — is  that  nec- 

73 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

essary  for  the  custody  of  millions?  An  ordinary  sober 
honest  hard-working  agent  could  do  as  well,  I  should 
think;  you  must  have  some  estimable  relatives." 

Mr.  Abbott  laughed.  "  Not  suitable  for  my  purpose," 
he  said.  "Sit  down.  I  have  still  much  to  say.  I  never 
blinded  myself  to  the  fact  that  I  was  running  a  great 
risk,  my  dear  boy;  that  you  might  get  far  beyond  me, 
refuse  to  conform  to  my  ultimate  plans — especially  after 
you  realized  that  I  not  only  had  been  obliged  to  act  a 
lie  but  to  utter  more  than  one.  One  source  of  my  great 
power  is  that  my  word  has  never  been  questioned,  and 
I  can  manipulate  Wall  Street  by  a  simple  statement.  I 
may  add  that  my  word  is  as  unchallenged  in  Europe. 
I  have  bitter  enemies,  and  they  have  called  me  every 
opprobrious  epithet  except  liar.  But  for  once  I  deter 
mined  to  play  the  Jesuit;  and  as  you  have  as  truthful 
and  honest  a  nature  as  one  meets  here  below,  I  will  add 
that  the  man  who  cannot  lie  when  some  great  issue  is  at 
stake  is  too  big  an  ass  for  this  world.  Well,  to  proceed. 
It  does  not  so  much  matter  about  the  destiny  of  the 
average  millionaire's  wealth;  it  is  usually  cut  up  among 
relatives  and  benefactions — bids  for  immortality  in  the 
third  degree.  At  the  worst  it  can  be  left  in  trust.  But 
when  I  follow  my  father,  only  ten  millions  will  go  to — 
to — relatives.  You  must  be  the  custodian  of  the  bulk; 
and  when  I  give  you  its  present  figure — reminding  you 
that  such  wealth  rolls  up  wealth  unceasingly,  by  the 
mere  force  of  momentum — it  may  dawn  upon  you  that 
you  still  have  it  in  your  power  to  become  as  great  and 
as  mighty  as  ever  your  boyish  imaginings  dictated,  and 
that  you  will  need  all  the  character  you  have  put  in  stor 
age.  What  is  your  idea  of  a  great  fortune — an  American 
fortune?" 

"I  have  thought  very  little  about  it.  A  million  seems 
to  me  a  huge  sum.  I  have  heard  of  fortunes  of  fifty  or 

74 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

sixty  millions — I  have  scarcely  believed  in  them,  al 
though  I  perfectly  comprehend  the  wealth  of  nations.  I 
am  now  prepared  to  hear  you  say  you  are  worth  any 
thing." 

"I  am  worth  four  hundred  millions." 

Fessenden  gasped.  The  distant  rumble  of  the  streets 
came  to  his  sensitive  ears  like  the  sound  of  crashing 
worlds.  In  a  moment  he  laughed.  "Go  on,"  he  said. 
"I  anxiously  await  the  dawn,  the  arrival  of  hope.  I 
am  utterly  incapable  of  grasping  such  a  sum.  Have 
you  got  it  in  gold  coin  in  the  bank  ?  If  you  could  show 
it  to  me  in  that  concrete  form  I  might  realize  it — not 
otherwise." 

"You  will  realize  it  when  you  have  spent  several 
months  examining  my  papers;  and  when  this  natural 
bewilderment  has  passed  you  will  recall  all  you  have 
recently  mastered  of  banking  and  finance.  You  can  lay 
your  hands  on  several  millions  in  gold  coin  if  you  desire 
— and  transfer  them  to  your  own  account,  for  that 
matter;  no  wish  of  yours  will  ever  again  be  ungratified 
by  me.  But  the  greater  part  represents  the  controlling 
interests  in  the  leading  qorporations,  industries,  and  rail 
roads  in  this  country,  to  say  nothing  of  real  estate,  gov 
ernment  bonds — of  which  I  have  the  largest  share  of 
any  man  or  combination  of  men — and  the  bank  of  which 
I  am  the  president  and  principal  shareholder.  That  is 
the  skeleton;  the  details  require  weeks  of  explanation 
on  my  part  and  close  application  on  yours.  I  have  told 
you  enough  to  demonstrate  to  you  that  the  day  ap 
proaches  when  you  may  be  the  most  powerful  man  in 
the  world  if  you  choose.  You  will  have  heard  that  the 
Rothschilds  dictate  to  Europe — that  a  nation  may  be 
unable  to  go  to  war  if  they  refuse  to  advance  the  money. 
What  the  Rothschilds  are  as  a  family  I  am  as  an  individ 
ual — and  doubly  so,  for  I  can  act  on  the  moment;  I 

75 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

am  obliged  to  consult  no  one.  When  the  coffer*,  of  the 
United  States  Treasury  are  low  I  can  fill  them ;  if  I  re 
fused,  and  lifted  my  warning  finger  to  others,  they 
would  remain  empty.  I  can  reduce  the  President  of 
this  great  country  to  a  mere  figurehead.  When  the 
right  moment  comes  I  can  push  the  United  States  into 
the  front  of  nations,  or  force  it  to  continue  to  play  a 
third-rate  part.  In  time  I  can — and  shall — make  her 
the  most  powerful,  the  most  feared,  the  most  hated  of 
all  the  countries  on  the  globe — through  such  a  concen 
tration  of  capital  as  no  one  at  the  present  moment  has 
had  more  than  a  tantalizing  dream  of.  Fifteen  years 
from  now  this  country  will  not  only  be  the  clearing 
house  of  the  world,  but  the  autocrat  of  commerce.  Do 
you  begin  to  see  light?" 

"Yes,  the  dawn  breaks;  but  by  your  leave  I  will  go  to 
my  own  room  for  a  while.  My  brain  must  have  a  brief 
respite.  Where  am  I  to  hang  out?" 

"The  corner  suite  on  the  third  floor.  I  have  had  a 
swimming  -  tank  put  in,  a  Russian  bath,  and  a  gym 
nasium.  What  you  don't  like  you  will  change,  of 
course." 

"Thanks.  I  shall  probably  put  a  cot  in  the  gymna 
sium." 

"Don't  fear  that  I  am  stifling  you  with  luxury. 
I  have  my  idea  of  what  a  man's  rooms  should  be, 
and  I  doubt  if  you  find  that  it  differs  from  your 
own." 

As  Fessenden  opened  the  door  he  turned  with  a  sud 
den  flash  in  his  eyes.  "Where  is  my  sister?"  he 
asked. 

"She  is  visiting  the  Archduchess  Ranata  Theresia, 
daughter  of  the  Emperor — 

But  Fessenden  had  closed  the  door  with  force  and  was 
bounding  up  the  stair.  "Good  God!"  he  thought,  "is 

76 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

tne  world  I  am  to  live  in  made  up  of  superlatives? 
feel  like  Gulliver  fallen  upon  Brobdingnag." 


XVIII 

He  found  no  fault  with  his  rooms.  They  were  not 
those  of  a  poor  student  with  a  great  future,  but  they 
were  severe,  masculine,  and  entirely  adequate.  When  he 
had  taken  a  cold  swim  in  his  marble  tank,  and  exercised 
for  half  an  hour  in  his  gymnasium,  the  blood  which  his 
father's  millions  had  shocked  to  his  brain  receded  and 
left  it  clear  and  logical  again.  But  he  was  by  no  means 
reconciled  to  his  lot ;  he  feared  the  stifling  influences  of 
wealth,  of  which  he  had  read  in  so  many  books.  To 
make  a  great  fortune  in  constant  warfare  with  all  the 
difficulties,  acquiring  a  painful  knowledge  of  the  value 
of  every  dollar,  was  an  achievement  which  might  easily 
lead  to  greater  accomplishment  still,  but  to  fling  a  man 
on  his  back  without  warning  and  pour  gold  over  him  by 
the  ton — 

He  left  his  room  abruptly  and  walked  slowly  down 
stairs.  "What's  the  use  of  thinking  about  it?  or  about 
what  was  to  have  been? — my  absurd  impossible  past, 
which  I  shall  put  away  in  lavender  and  cherish  like  a 
dead  love.  There  is  nothing  to  be  done  but  to  make  the 
best  of  a  bad  business,  re -adapt  myself  —  mortals  are 
always  doing  that,  anyhow.  I  shall  ask  for  a  respite 
before  settling  down  to  it,  however." 

When  he  reached  the  main  floor  he  turned  into  the  re 
ception-room  and  strolled  through  the  several  large  and 
lofty  rooms  which  ended  in  a  music -room  of  immense 
proportions.  He  inferred  that  it  was  the  largest  in  New 
York;  and,  still  feeling  sore  and  satirical,  returned  to  a 
more  appreciative  inspection  of  the  other  rooms.  That 

77 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

their  harmonies  were  exquisite  he  needed  no  telling,  and 
he  thought  the  pale  soft  tints,  as  faded  and  elusive  as 
charming  old  memories,  a  pleasant  contrast  to  his  be 
loved  Nature.  That  the  few  pictures  were  as  great  in 
art  as  they  must  be  in  price  he  also  knew  instinctively, 
and  found  consolation  in  the  reflection  that  his  father 
did  not  belong  to  the  class  of  millionaires  who  furnished 
with  a  single  check  and  leaned  upon  the  agent  and  the 
decorator.  The  rich  worn  oddly  built  furniture  looked 
as  if  brooding  in  cold  aloofness  upon  an  historic  past, 
yet  not  wholly  dissatisfied  with  its  present.  Where  there 
were  no  pictures,  bits  of  brocade,  which  looked  as  if  a 
breath  might  waft  them  in  search  of  their  makers,  had 
been  inserted  with  such  skill  that  they  were  a  part  of  the 
background  of  tarnished  gold.  Not  a  chair,  not  a  table, 
not  a  cabinet,  was  formed  like  anything  Fessenden  had 
ever  seen,  and  there  were  numberless  objects  for  which 
he  had  no  name;  but  he  approved  of  everything;  indeed, 
they  gave  him  a  distinct  pleasure — caressed  the  raw 
edges  of  his  resentment,  and  inclined  his  mind  more 
philosophically  to  his  new  condition. 

When  his  eye  had  mastered  the  general  effect,  it  took 
note  of  the  exceeding  repetition  of  one  object,  the  pho 
tograph  of  a  girl.  There  were  perhaps  twenty  of  these 
large  photographs  in  the  different  rooms,  framed  in 
silver,  in  gold,  in  brilliants,  in  semi-precious  stones,  on 
tables,  on  easels,  on  shelves.  One  massive  gold  frame, 
incrusted  with  jewels,  bore  aloft  the  double  eagle  of  the 
House  of  Hapsburg.  Across  all  these  pictures  was  dashed, 
rather  than  written,  the  name  RAN  ATA,  followed  by  an 
inscription  in  German,  French,  English,  or  in  another 
language  for  which  Fessenden  had  no  name.  The  girl 
herself  was  taken  in  full,  in  profile,  on  horseback,  sitting 
in  throne-like  chairs,  leaning  on  balustrades,  at  any  age 
from  ten  to  eighteen,  and  in  as  many  different  costumes 

78 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

as  there  were  photographs.  Fessenden  sniffed  at  the 
vanity  of  woman,  but  concluded  that  he  had  never  seen 
such  a  seat  in  the  saddle,  and  that  she  certainly  looked 
as  if  she  knew  her  own  mind.  Whether  he  admired  her 
or  not  he  was  unable  to  determine.  She  had  an  antique 
profile,  and  her  eyes  were  as  American  as  his  own — 
shrewd,  alert,  eager,  powerful.  One  of  the  photographs 
was  colored,  and  the  hair  blazed,  but  the  eyes  were  gray. 
Fessenden  thought  it  romantic  to  have  a  princess  in  the 
family,  and  examined  the  pictures  with  much  interest. 
The  greater  number  had  been  given  to  her  much-loved 
Alexandra,  but  one  was  apparently  the  property  of  his 
father,  and  another  of  a  Mrs.  Abbott,  of  whom  he  knew 
nothing.  He  was  not  the  youth  to  fall  in  love  with  a 
photograph,  however,  and  as  he  walked  towards  the  li 
brary  the  Archduchess  Ranata  Theresia  made  way  in  his 
mind  for  other  matters  which  at  that  stage  concerned 
him  far  more  deeply. 

XIX 

His  father  was  standing  on  the  hearth-rug,  awaiting 
his  return  with  some  uneasiness.  Fessenden  gave  his 
hand  a  mighty  grip.  "It's  all  right,"  he  said.  "I  was 
born  into  this  family,  and  that  is  the  end  of  it.  I'd 
never  go  back  on  you,  anyhow.  But  if  you  don't  mind, 
I'd  like  to  go  up  to  the  mountains  for  a  while.  I'd  like 
it  awfully  if  you  would  come,  too,  of  course — it's  only 
that  I  can  think  better  there  than  anywhere  else — and  it 
occurs  to  me  for  the  first  time  that  I  am  rather  tired — 
the  examinations  were  very  stiff,  and  I  went  in  for  an 
unusual  amount." 

"The  Adirondacks,  by  all  means,  if  you  prefer  them; 
and  I  am  badly  in  need  of  a  holiday ;  but  how  would  you 
like  a  yachting  cruise  for  a  change?  I  have  a  new 

79 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

steam -yacht  of  7000  tons  that  I  think  would  inter 
est—" 

"A  steam-yacht  of  7000  tons!"  cried  Fessenden,  his 
terrible  responsibilities  forgotten.  "I  can  think  of  noth 
ing  on  earth — what  sort  of  machinery  has  she  got?  How 
fast  can  she  go?  Can  I  run  her?" 

While  Mr.  Abbott  was  answering  questions,  luncheon 
was  announced,  and  he  passed  his  hand  through  his  son's 
arm.  "We  are  lunching  earlier  than  usual  on  your  ac 
count,  and  the  time  has  run  away,"  he  said  haltingly. 
"I  don't  wish  to  give  you  too  many  shocks  in  one  day, 
but  I  must  make  another  confession.  You  have — I 
married  again  some  years  ago." 

"My  dear  father,"  replied  his  son  dryly,  "if  you  told 
me  that  you  had  married  Queen  Victoria  and  annexed 
the  British  realm — in  fact  I  expect  it.  Are  there — • 
have  I  any  more  brothers  and  sisters  scattered  about 
among  the  palaces  of  Europe?" 

Mr.  Abbott  laughed.  "No,  I  did  not  marry  another 
young  wife.  Your  stepmother  is  ornamental  in  her 
way;  but  I  selected  her  partly  for  companionship — I 
had  known  her  always — partly  because  I  wanted  some 
one  to  bring  up  your  sister  with  common -sense  and  care. 
I  am  perfectly  satisfied  with  her;  and,  as  she  is  a  woman 
of  infinite  tact,  I  am  sure  you  will  get  on  with  her 
whether  you  like  her  or  not.  She  will  probably  be  a 
little  late  for  luncheon — she  has  so  many  morning  en 
gagements  — charities — ' ' 

But  this  was  not  the  occasion  for  Mrs.  Abbott's  tact 
to  fail  her.  She  had  given  the  father  and  son  their  un 
interrupted  morning;  but  to  hasten  home  and  preside  at 
luncheon  at  the  unseemly  hour  of  half -past  twelve,  to 
make  such  a  performance  appear  both  natural  and  a 
compliment,  was  an  occasion  for  subtlety  too  rare  to  be 
missed.  She  was  standing  in  the  dining-room  as  they 

80 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

entered,  one  hand  resting  on  the  table,  her  eyes  fixed  in 
pleasant  anticipation  on  the  Gobelin  which  hung  before 
the  door.     She  still  wore  her  hat,  she  was  slightly  flushed, 
her  wrap  was   half  removed  —  her  whole   appearance 
was  stamped  with  delicate  haste.     As  she  shook  hands 
warmly  with  Fessenden,  smiling  and  talking  rapidly  in 
a  very  cultivated  voice,  her  step-son  wondered  at  her 
extreme  unlikeness  to  any  woman  of  her  probable  age 
that  he  had  ever  seen.     She  was  tall,  slender,  as  willowy 
as  youth;  her  hair  was  as  black  as  her  eyes,  her  skin,  al 
though  sallow,  was  without  wrinkle  or  line,  and  her  feat 
ures  were  mobile.     She  wore  a  gown  of  light   summer 
silk  and  a  large  hat,  yet  both  were  made  and  worn  with 
such  tact  that  the  painful  affectation  of  lost  youth  was 
not  suggested:  she  looked  what  she  was,  a  woman  of  the 
ever-receding  middle  age,  fashionably  dressed.     What 
ever  use  she  might  make  of  modern  science  to  avert  age, 
she  employed  no  art  to  simulate  youth,  and  as  her  year 
was  various  and  crowded,  both  mind  and  face  were  plas 
tic.     Whatever  her  temperament  may  have  been  origi 
nally,  she  had  made  it  equable  long  since ;  and  while  she 
escaped  the  stigma  of  amiability,  her  self-control  carried 
her  evenly  through  the  smooth  waters  of  her  life.     No 
one  ever  knew  whether  she  were  a  really  intellectual 
woman  or  a  brilliantly  superficial  one,  for  she  had  a 
delicately  masterful  habit  of  changing  the  conversation, 
as  if  the  end  of  living  were  to  avert  the  monotonies. 
Even  in  the  soft  vagueness  of  chiffon  and  lace  she  looked 
well  groomed,  and  on  the  promenade  and  in  her  carriage 
no  one  outshone  her  in  distinction.     Distinction,  indeed, 
was  the  keynote  of  her  personality;  and  it  is  doubtful 
if  she  would  not  have  sacrificed  all  other  possible  gifts 
to  this.     An  efficient  housekeeper  managed  her  twenty 
servants,  her  pin-money  would  have  kept  an  ambitious 
family  of  the  middle  class  in  affluence,  her  life  was  far 
6  81 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

more  luxurious  than  royalty's;  she  was  the  leader  of  the 
most  exclusive  old  set  in  New  York,  presided  over  the 
most  important  charities,  and  yet  found  time  to  read 
the  foreign  news  and  play  with  intellect.  With  it  all 
she  had  the  rare  good  sense  to  be  content  with  her  lot 
and  to  keep- her  health. 

But  in  spite  of  this  charming  personage  who  diffused 
ease  as  with  unseen  wings,  discontent  had  assailed  Fes- 
sen  den  again.  The  immense  dim  baronial  room,  the 
automatic  butler,  the  catlike  footmen,  absurdly  tall  in 
their  livery,  the  gold  and  crystal  and  floral  splendor 
of  the  table,  made  him  long  gloomily  for  Pocahontas 
and  a  "hunk"  of  Christina's  bread.  He  was  grateful, 
however,  that  Mrs.  Abbott  talked  constantly,  in  her 
sprightly  abrupt  manner.  She  had  been  educated  as 
thoroughly  as  an  Englishwoman,  trained  in  a  deport 
ment  which  was  a  nice  mixture  of  reserve  and  gracious- 
ness — Fessenden  inferred  that  she  would  treat  a  servant 
with  the  utmost  consideration,  and  never  permit  a  lib 
erty  from  a  friend — and  she  had  cultivated  the  art  of 
conversation,  of  appearing  spontaneous — rarely  finishing 
a  long  sentence — and  of  adapting  herself  to  all  men, 
from  a  reforming  drunkard  in  the  slums  straight  up  to 
royalty.  She  presently  divined  her  step-son's  mental 
state,  and  diverted  him  by  talking  of  his  sister. 

"Alexandra  spends  her  winters  with  the  Archduchess, 
with  whom  she  was  brought  up,  you  know.  She  hates 
New  York,  but  is  fond  of  our  home  on  the  Hudson,  and 
will  go  with  me  this  summer  to  Newport — makes  her 
de"but,  you  know — she  is  just  eighteen,  but  went  to  court 
functions  during  the  year  preceding  Rudolf's  death. 
The  Archduchess — they  are  the  same  age — came  out 
at  sixteen — the  Empress  being  so  much  away  made  a 
difference.  Alexandra  has  rather  Americanized  her,  al 
though  in  her  way  she  is  as  much  of  an  individual  as 

82 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

the  German  Emperor — if  she  only  becomes  American 
enough,  I  believe  Europe  will  hear  of  her — do  you  ob 
serve  your  father  smile?  It's  too  bad,  really — if  you 
rush  off  yachting  like  this,  you  won't  see  Alexandra  for 
months;  she  has  remained  later  than  usual  this  year, 
for  the  Archduchess  is  still  in  terrible  distress  over  the 
death  of  her  brother — a  greater  tragedy  for  Europe  than 
for  her,  however!  I  wonder  how  you  and  Alexandra 
will  like  each  other?  How  odd  for  you  to  meet  for  the 
first  time  at  your  age!  She  is  most  brilliantly  educated, 
very  clever,  and  a  really  remarkable  linguist;  speaks 
even  Hungarian  with  fluency,  and  already  has  quite 
a  knowledge  of  the  world — foreign  men  are  such  an 
education;  but  I  don't  think  she  will  marry  early.  She 
is  a  handsome  girl — looks  like  your  mother,  but  less 
beautiful;  not  in  the  least  susceptible — has  a  remarkably 
level  head ;  is  singularly  like  your  father  in  many  respects. 
We  hardly  fancy  she  will  marry  a  foreigner.  If  she  does, 
her  choice  is  sure  to  be  a  wise  one;  her  head  is  very  cool, 
and  she  is  in  a  position  to  take  any  step  with  her  eyes 
open." 

Fessenden  had  all  the  young,  or  the  un travelled, 
American's  contempt  for  the  foreigner.  As  his  step 
mother  paused  for  breath,  he  elevated  the  nose  that 
England  had  given  him.  "I  should  hope  she  wouldn't," 
he  said  emphatically.  "Aren't  there  enough  men  in 
America?  Why  don't  you  make  her  live  over  here? 
I  think  hobnobbing  with  royalty  is  ridiculous  for  an 
American." 

Mrs.  Abbott  laughed  pleasantly.  "If  you  could  only 
be  an  American  woman  for  five  minutes!  But  don't 
worry;  your  sister  is  as  good  an  American  as  you  are — 
we  have  seen  to  that — and,  as  I  have  said,  remarkably 
level-headed;  Europe  has  merely  improved,  not  changed 
her.  I  am  positive  you  will  be  delighted  with  her,  and 

83 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

what  she  can't  tell  you  of  la  haute  politique! —  She  is 
tremendously  interested  in  you — but  I  must  run!  I 
have  an  engagement  with  the  housekeeper,  and  she  has 
the  vice  of  promptness.  She  is  moving  us  to  The  Abbey, 
and  we  are  late  this  year — I  love  New  York;  and  as 
your  father  was  going  abroad,  and  Alex  is  so  far  behind 
time — you  will  excuse  me,  I  know;  and  mind  you  come 
to  tea  with  me  in  my  own  little  room  at  half-past  five. 
You  are  included  in  that  invitation,  my  lord."  And, 
nodding  brightly,  she  left  the  room  with  an  elastic  step 
that  in  no  way  detracted  from  the  light  dignity  of  her 
carriage. 

Fessenden  drew  a  long  breath. 

"It  is  not  always  so,"  said  Mr.  Abbott,  with  a  smile. 
"As  I  remarked  before,  she  has  great  tact.  She  saw 
that  you  were  bored,  and  was  determined  to  entertain 
you;  but  when  another  wants  the  floor,  I  do  not  know 
any  one  who  can  yield  it  more  gracefully.  But  of 
course  she  lives  in  an  atmosphere  of  flattery — you 
must  expect  to  find  her  rather  spoiled;  but  if  you  really 
are  a  good  American,  you  won't  mind  that.  Alexandra 
is  far  less  so;  she  has  been  educated  in  a  severer  school, 
and  she  has  a  far  juster  sense  of  proportion — knows  ex 
actly  what  the  flattery  of  the  courtier  amounts  to.  That 
is  one  reason  I  have  permitted  her  to  be  over  there  so 
much — one  of  many  reasons." 

He  lapsed  into  the  dreamy  condition  his  son  remem 
bered  so  well;  but  he  emerged  in  a  few  moments,  and 
waved  his  hand.  The  servants  disappeared.  Mr.  Ab 
bott  concentrated  his  gaze  on  his  son.  "Fessenden," 
he  said  slowly,  "I  will  tell  you  my  programme  for  the 
next  year;  and  please  remember,  as  you  listen,  that  if 
you  do  not  like  it  you  are  at  liberty  to  follow  one  of  your 
own.  I  shall  never  do  more  than  suggest  again;  for  I 
admit  that  I  have  had  my  day,  and  that  it  is  your  turn 

84 


RULERS   OP    KINGS 

now.  To  prove  my  entire  sincerity  in  this  respect,  I 
shall  deposit  a  million  dollars  to  your  credit  to-morrow. 
That  will  make  you  your  own  master — " 

Fessenden  had  flung  himself  half-way  across  the  table. 
"I  know  what  I  will  do  with  it,"  he  cried  eagerly.  "I 
never  dreamed  I  could  get  to  work  so  soon — but  pardon 
me;  go  ahead,  sir.  Mine  will  keep." 

"I  have  no  doubt  that  plans  will  come  to  you  very 
thickly,  but  I  want  you  to  learn  something  of  Europe 
before  settling  down.  I  shall  take  three  secretaries  on 
the  yacht  with  me — I  should  break  down  if  I  relaxed 
altogether — and  in  the  course  of  the  journey  you  will 
learn  a  great  deal  about  my  affairs.  After  that  pre 
liminary  course  I  want  you  to  stay  over  there  for  a  time, 
and  apply  yourself  to  the  study  of  Europe.  If  churches 
and  picture-galleries  happen  to  interest  you,  polish  them 
off  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  then  get  down  beneath 
the  surface.  Study  politics,  governments,  the  financial 
and  commercial  conditions  of  the  first  -  rate  powers — 
make  yourself  master  at  first  hand  of  national  traits  and 
idiosyncrasies;  you  will  have  letters  that  will  carry  you 
everywhere.  There  are  going  to  be  two  controlling 
forces  in  the  world  in  the  next  thirty  years,  yourself  and 
William  of  Germany — if  he  lives! — if  he  lives!  Keep  a 
hawk-eye  on  him,  and  don't  make  the  common  shallow 
mistake  of  underrating  him.  He  alone  can  block  the 
progress  of  the  United  States;  all  the  other  nations  put 
together  are  not  worth  considering.  He  only  needs  cer 
tain  conditions  to  scoop  in  Europe  like  another  Charle 
magne.  It  may  be  that  he  will  create  these  conditions. 
It  may  be  that  you  will  help  him  to  them,  if  you  both 
happen  to  pull  in  the  same  direction.  That  of  course 
is  for  the  future.  I  will  see  that  you  meet  him  informally 
this  summer.  But  if  he  fascinates  you — as  he  probably 
will — make  always  this  reserve:  your  future  friendship 

85 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

for  him  depends  upon  his  course  towards  the  United 
States.  It  is  not  too  soon  to  begin  checkmating  him, 
and  it  can  always  be  done  by  this  country;  but  it  must 
be  done  by  the  individual.  Washington  is  blind  by 
too  much  occupation  with  other  things.  Would  you 
like  to  walk  down-town  and  see  our  offices?  Historical 
landmarks,  too  —  Washington  —  Hamilton —  Let  me 
hear  your  plans." 

XX 

Fessenden  walked  slowly  towards  the  rift  in  the  great 
wall  of  rock  which  marked  the  land  entrance  to  the  fjord. 
Pocahontas  was  dancing  just  beyond  that  narrow  gate, 
but  although  his  ringers  tingled  for  her  sail,  his  step  still 
halted ;  he  knew  that  she  would  bring  him  swiftly  within 
range  of  the  keen  thumping  of  a  typewriter,  possibly  of 
more  than  one.  He  was  dutifully  and  even  deeply  in 
terested  in  his  father's  vast  affairs,  and  there  were  nights 
when  he  went  to  bed  with  the  sensation  that  the  Earth 
was  his  pillow;  there  were  days  when  he  dared  to  hope 
the  time  would  come  when  he  could  with  pleasure  em 
broider  the  scenery  with  figures  and  puncture  the  si 
lences  of  Nature  with  a  typewriter.  But  the  time  was 
not  yet.  Four  days  since  he  had  awakened  his  father  at 
three  in  the  morning,  informed  him  that  he  was  off  for  a 
solitary  tramp  into  Norway,  and  promised  to  return  at 
the  end  of  a  week.  Conscience  was  driving  him  home 
sooner  than  he  had  intended,  for  he  had  revelled  in  the 
stillness  and  solitude  of  his  wild  and  lonely  tramp. 
He  missed  at  first  the  friendliness  of  the  Adirondacks, 
the  only  other  mountains  he  knew;  but  the  harsh  and 
terrible  grandeur  about  him  companioned  his  mood — 
finally  inspired  him  with  a  passionate  sense  of  gratitude. 
For  he  was  in  a  desperate  state  of  rebellion.  The  phi- 

86 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

^osophy  he  had  invoked  on  the  heels  of  Mr.  Abbott's 
revelation  had  but  deferred  the  inevitable  moment.  He 
lid  not  doubt  that  the  future  presented  to  him  by  his 
Father  would  bring  him  power,  but  that  future  was — he 
sincerely  hoped — far  distant,  and  at  present  he  was  little 
more  than  a  glorified  clerk  in  training.  His  inheritance 
and  his  education  permitted  him  to  grasp  the  stupendous 
details  with  a  sufficient  facility,  and  there  were  moments 
when  he  was  staggered  and  overwhelmed  with  the 
thought  of  such  world-manipulating  power,  at  others 
intoxicated  with  dreams  of  a  future  when  himself  should 
be  a  ruler  of  many  times  the  strength  of  any  monarch  in 
Europe.  In  such  moments  he  felt  arrogant,  and  con 
temptuous  of  sovereigns  who  were  but  the  tools  of  a  peo 
ple  or  a  cabinet,  no  matter  what  the  euphemisms,  longed 
for  the  time  to  come  when  he  could  demonstrate  to 
them  the  absolutism  of  concentrated  capital  in  the  hands 
of  an  uncrowned  ruler  of  a  great  republic.  But  reaction 
under  the  lonely  stars  invariably  chastened  him.  What 
did  he  amount  to  now?  Who  would  recognize  in  him 
more  than  his  famous  father's  second?  He  was  burst 
ing  with  energy,  with  ambition  for  himself  and  the 
United  States,  and,  in  spite  of  his  father's  love  and  sin 
cere  indulgence,  he  felt  like  a  prisoner  on  parole.  It  is 
true  that  when  he  had  confided  his  cherished  ideal,  the 
great  and  beneficent  conception  which  was  to  have 
worked  his  fingers  to  the  bone  and  made  him  old  in  his 
youth,  Mr.  Abbott  had  waved  his  golden  wand.  A 
Western  desert  hummed  and  echoed,  and  even  now  a 
huge  building  was  rising  on  its  foundations,  and  the  first 
of  the  world's  electricians,  for  a  yearly  salary  which 
made  Fessenden's  head  swim,  had  agreed  to  occupy  this 
building  with  a  corps  of  assistants  and  work  upon  the 
idea  which  a  youth  had  conceived.  The  author  of  the 
idea  felt  no  temptation  to  take  charge  himself.  The 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

mere  fact  that  more  experienced  genius  could  be  bought 
delivered  him  from  the  thrall  of  his  ideal,  although  he 
still  took  a  scientific  and  patriotic  interest  in  its  accom 
plishment. 

Robbed  of  this  dream  of  immortality,  he  had  dropped 
the  curtain  upon  his  inner  life  and  endeavored  to  fulfil  his 
immediate  destiny.  As  his  powers  of  concentration 
were  very  great,  he  had  succeeded  for  a  time.  During 
the  fortnight  before  sailing,  novelty  and  wonder  had 
sustained  him,  and  for  a  time  at  sea  the  long  conversa 
tions  with  his  father  were  agreeably  varied  by  instruc 
tions  in  the  science  of  yachting.  But  Fessenden  was 
Fessenden — a  personality,  a  young  man  bursting  with 
precocious  energy,  ambition,  independence.  His  reas- 
sertion  was  slow  but  persistent,  and  during  one  sleepless 
night  alone  on  deck  the  naked  truth  confronted  him  that 
he  was  at  the  end  of  his  endurance,  that  however  he 
might  conform  to  his  father's  wishes  in  the  future,  for 
the  present  he  must  not  only  have  an  interval  of  per 
sonal  liberty,  but  arrange  his  nebulous  ambitions  and 
satisfy  them.  He  restrained  his  impatience  until  three 
o'clock,  then  awakened  Mr.  Abbott — who  smiled  and 
slept  again — and  plunged  without  a  guide  into  Norway. 

He  bathed  in  streams,  he  slept  under  the  stars,  he  saw 
no  one  but  peasants,  he  hardly  uttered  a  word  for  three 
days;  and  he  was  completely  happy.  When  he  was  not 
in  mountain  gorges  he  was  in  pine  forests;  everywhere 
he  had  Nature  in  her  magnificence,  and  he  was  alone. 
For  two  days  he  refused  to  think — it  was  enough  to  for 
get,  to  feel  the  freedom  of  the  years  when  he  believed 
himself  innocent  of  fortune,  with  a  glorious  and  self- 
made  future  stretching  through  infinite  horizons.  But 
on  the  evening  of  the  third  day  he  turned  his  back  on 
the  scenery,  sat  down  on  the  grass,  and  thought. 

That  the  prospect  before  him  was  hateful  and  hideous 

88 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

he  admitted  aloud,  lest  he  should  seem  to  blink  any 
modicum  of  the  truth.  The  abstract  fact  that  he  was 
a  rich  man  instead  of  a  poor  one  dwindled  to  compara 
tive  insignificance  beside  the  million  details  which  made 
up  the  sum  of  that  fact.  Had  he  been  the  author  of 
those  details,  his  inherited  and  financial  instincts,  so 
quick  at  college,  would  no  doubt  possess  him  and  obliter 
ate  the  dreams  of  his  youth.  But  that  mountain  of  par 
ticulars,  massive  and  petty,  had  fallen  upon  him  with 
out  a  moment's  warning,  and  he  was  not  its  illustrious 
author,  but  its  future  custodian.  The  youth  in  him  was 
rampant,  and  his  strong  vein  of  romance  unsatisfied. 
He  admitted — again  aloud — that  he  was  as  romantic  as 
he  was  practical.  He  would  train  to  succeed  his  father, 
but  meanwhile  would  distinguish  himself  in  his  own 
manner.  He  would  use  the  wealth  at  his  disposal,  but 
the  manner  should  be  picturesque. 

Without  admitting  that  he  intended  to  demand  a 
period  of  liberty,  his  imagination  in  the  past  weeks  had 
toyed  with  many  plans.  At  first,  when  he  learned  of 
the  more  than  thousands  in  his  father's  employ,  he  had 
been  fired  with  the  desire  to  ameliorate  the  lot  of  the 
working-man;  and  in  his  enthusiasm  had  awakened  his 
father  from  his  afternoon  nap  on  deck  and  talked  to  him 
for  an  hour.  Mr.  Abbott,  who  revelled  in  the  very  sound 
of  Fessenden's  voice,  and  would  have  attempted  to  give 
him  the  North  Pole  had  he  wanted  it,  listened  indulgent 
ly;  but  when  his  turn  came  to  speak  he  was  smiling 
grimly. 

"My  dear  boy,"  he  had  said,  "what  reason  have  I 
given  you  to  think  me  a  fool  ?  There  are  those  who  will 
tell  you  that  the  day  must  come  when  the  streets  of  our 
great  cities  will  run  red  with  blood,  when  not  one  stone 
on  Fifth  Avenue  will  remain  upon  another;  that,  in 
short,  the  great  civil  war  between  capital  and  labor  can 

89 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

be  delayed  only  until  a  strong  leader  of  organized  labor 
arises  who  cannot  be  bought.  I  do  not  go  so  far  as  to 
say  that  I — or  you — can  avert  that  calamity,  for  our 
rotten  municipal  governments  have  destroyed  the  re 
spect  of  the  thinking  laboring  man  for  authority,  and 
these  tremendous  aggregations  of  capital  I  have  in  hand, 
which  will  make  the  United  States  strong  and  feared 
among  nations,  may  be  carried  to  an  excess  which  will 
lessen  the  chances  of  individual  achievement  and  curtail 
personal  liberty.  If  rich  men — that  is  to  say,  the  manip 
ulators — make  fools  of  themselves,  and  in  their  greed  for 
wealth  and  power  reduce  wages  and  sow  further  seeds  of 
discontent,  there  is  no  telling  what  may  happen.  But 
although  I  make  no  denial  of  my  own  greed  for  wealth 
and  power,  and  although  these  concentrations  of  many 
small  industries  into  one  huge  enterprise  will  double  my 
fortune,  I  make  no  such  mistake  as  that.  I  have  always 
maintained  that  a  man  may  get  rich  and  still  share  a 
certain  portion  of  his  gains  with  his  assistants;  and  my 
working-men  all  receive  good  salaries,  perquisites,  heavy 
Christmas  presents,  and  pensions  in  their  old  age.  I 
make  no  pretence  at  philanthropy.  There  is  no  man 
who  needs  friends  as  the  rich  man  does;  there  are  no 
friends  so  valuable  as  an  army  of  employe's.  I  know 
many  of  mine  personally;  at  some  time  or  other  I  have 
managed  to  come  into  contact  with  most  of  them.  They 
like  me.  They  are  content.  They  never  go  on  strike. 
They  are  the  one  formidable  bulwark  against  united 
labor  in  the  country.  When  you  return,  I  wish  you 
to  go  about  among  those  men,  show  them  your  personal 
interest  in  them  as  human  beings,  make  them  love  you  as 
much  as  they  like  me;  then,  if  an  industrial  war  ever 
comes,  you  will  make  yourself  their  leader  and  take 
whichever  side  you  think  wisest.  But  the  thing  to  do  is 
to  avert  war  and  use  that  great  following  for  another 

90 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

purpose.  Either  with  or  without  civil  war  the  time  must 
come  for  the  reform  of  municipalities,  the  reduction  of 
state  power,  and,  possibly,  an  interval  of  benevolent 
despotism.  There  is  the  role  I  have  cut  out  for  you; 
but  meanwhile  work  with  me  to  avert  the  worst  calamity 
which  could  visit  this  country — set  it  back  a  hundred 
years.  My  men  are  not  overpaid;  they  receive  strict 
justice,  that  is  all.  I  have  harangued  for  hours  with 
almost  every  great  employer  in  the  country,  appealing 
to  his  common -sense,  even  his  cupidity,  but  in  most 
cases  in  vain.  The  average  rich  man  in  the  United 
States  is  lowly  born.  He  has  worked  himself  up  from 
the  ranks.  There  never  was  a  real  democrat  who  was 
not  born  an  aristocrat.  The  risen  plebeian  is  a  tyrant, 
is  insatiable  in  his  greed,  glories  in  the  thought  of  grind 
ing  the  life  out  of  thousands  of  his  own  class,  delights  in 
the  hatred  and  envy  which  are  but  another  signal  of  his 
success;  in  short,  he  is  a  damned  fool,  and  deserves  to 
wake  up  and  find  his  throat  cut.  I  suppose  all  revolu 
tions  are  the  result  of  stupidity.  Ours,  if  it  comes,  will 
arise  from  no  other  cause  whatever.  If  you  have  the 
genius  in  you  that  I  believe,  you  will  avert  this  war  or 
control  it.  Now  I  will  sleep  again  if  you  will  permit 
me." 

The  words  had  kept  Fessenden  awake  all  night,  but 
after  several  days  his  enthusiasm  cooled.  Again  he 
was  willing  to  take  the  helm  whenever  the  time  came, 
and  with  all  his  energies;  but  the  idea  was  his  father's, 
not  his.  His  young  ego,  uniquely  developed,  demanded 
creation. 

During  the  last  day  of  his  tramp  he  had  looked  down 
twenty  avenues  of  possible  greatness,  and  turned  his 
back  upon  all.  He  was  not  discouraged,  for  he  knew 
that  inspiration  comes  suddenly,  even  if  it  be  the  final 
result  of  industrious  raking.  He  was  now  returning  to 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

demand  a  vacation  of  some  months,  during  which  he 
would  tramp  and  study  Europe  in  his  own  way.  But 
inspiration  was  closer  than  he  knew,  and  although  he 
was  to  tramp  Europe  again  and  again  with  various  and , 
in  one  case,  extraordinary  results,  there  were  to  be  inter 
vening  years. 

As  he  jumped  into  his  canoe  and  set  his  sail,  he  saw 
that  the  A  lexandra  was  no  longer  the  solitary  inhabitant 
of  the  fjord.  Not  half  a  mile  from  his  father's  yacht 
was  what  looked  to  be  a  miniature  man-of-war.  It  was 
painted  white,  and  had  a  heavily  gilded  figurehead.  In 
a  few  moments  he  was  close  enough  to  see  the  colors  and 
design  on  the  standard.  He  whistled  and  experienced 
a  glow  of  anticipation. 

"The  German  Emperor!  I  hardly  know  whether  I 
am  more  anxious  to  see  him  or  his  yacht.  Ours  is  the 
biggest  in  the  world — of  course ! — his  is  the  most  original ; 
but  that  may  only  mean  resource:  he  couldn't  get  the 
money  voted  any  other  way.  The  more  I  hear  of  Eu 
rope  the  rottener  it  appears,  with  the  exception  of  Ger 
many.  This  man  seems  to  be  making  an  American  city 
out  of  Berlin,  and  to  have  plenty  of  sand  all  round. 
Some  one  has  said  of  him  that  he  is  an  autocrat  with  a 
Yankee  head  on  his  shoulders;  and,  if  that  is  the  case,  he 
may  be  worth  studying  for  future  points." 

Nevertheless,  when  a  half -hour  later  his  father  told 
him  that  the  Emperor  had  invited  him  to  visit  the 
Hohenzollern  the  day  of  his  return,  he  sniffed  with  youth 
ful  Americanism. 

"I  don't  fancy  waiting  till  I'm  spoken  to,"  he  an 
nounced — "for  his  high -mightiness  to  introduce  every 
subject.  He  may  be  interesting  in  himself,  but  he  is  a 
monarch,  and  I  have  no  use  for  any  of  them.  They  are 
a  burlesque  in  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century." 

"Tell  that  to  William,  if  you  like,  and  introduce  what 

92 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

subjects  interest  you — if  you  get  a  chance.  He  ob 
serves  little  formality  up  here,  and  less  with  Americans. 
Now  please  go  and  exchange  that  sweater  and  those 
pants — they  are  not  trousers — for  a  suit  of  flannels." 


XXI 

Fessenden  drew  a  long  and  audible  breath.  It  had  not 
occurred  to  him  soon  enough  to  keep  tally,  but  he  felt 
justified  in  assuming  that  he  had  answered  eight  hun 
dred  questions.  The  power  and  magnetism  of  the  Em 
peror  still  impressed  him,  but  the  fascination  had  waned. 
When  he  had  boarded  the  yacht  early  in  the  afternoon, 
excited  with  a  sensation  that  was  half  eager  curiosity, 
half  aggressive  fear  of  being  patronized,  and  had  re 
ceived  a  hearty  greeting  from  a  man  as  informal  as  he 
was  charming,  Fessenden  had  promptly  conceived  his 
first  enthusiasm  for  a  contemporary.  He  had  as  prompt 
ly  reminded  himself  that  he  too  intended  to  inspire 
enthusiasms — that  his  was  not  the  r61e  of  the  follower; 
nevertheless  he  had  beamed  back  upon  his  imperial  host; 
and,  in  spite  of  a  flinty  reserve  in  the  background  of  both 
pairs  of  eyes,  a  mutual  friendship  was  conceived  at  once. 
The  Emperor  had  taken  care  to  cement  his  personal 
fascination  by  exhibiting  the  machinery  of  his  new 
yacht  to  his  curious  young  guest,  and  a  twenty -minutes' 
argument  on  a  subject  of  which  one  had  much  practical 
knowledge  and  the  other  almost  as  much  by  theory  and 
observation,  established  a  respect  as  strong  as  the  senti 
ment.  But  when  they  were  seated  alone  on  deck,  the 
Emperor's  inquiring  mind  was  no  longer  to  be  restrained. 
A  conversation  with  Mr.  Abbott  the  day  before  had  ex 
cited  his  curiosity;  his  interrogations  began  upon  Fes- 
senden's  babyhood;  and  then,  with  the  rapid  strokes  of 

93 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

a  minute  impressionist,  never  losing  sight  of  causes  and 
effects,  he  built  up  a  complete  picture  of  a  self-made 
boy  with  a  beneficent  providence  in  the  background.  In 
three-quarters  of  an  hour  he  not  only  knew  the  boy  in 
the  wilderness  as  well  as  the  boy  had  known  himself, 
but  the  history  of  the  Nettlebecks,  the  size  and  condition 
of  their  farm,  their  attitude — or,  as  he  discovered,  their 
lack  of  attitude — towards  Germany,  the  area  of  the 
Adirondack  tract,  the  attention — or  lack  of  attention — 
given  it  by  the  government,  the  inferior  condition,  as 
compared  with  Germany,  of  its  forests,  its  roads,  its 
bridges.  His  questions  and  comments  showed  such 
grasp  and  activity  of  intelligence  that  for  a  time  Fessen- 
den  was  as  interested  as  the  Man  of  Questions,  and  there 
were  intervals  when  he  was  permitted  to  give  a  bit  of 
thrilling  description,  notably  of  logging-camps  and 
"driving,"  which,  as  the  Emperor's  eyes  kindled  and 
his  horned  upper  lip  twitched,  nattered  him  for  five  or 
six  consecutive  minutes. 

But  from  the  Adirondacks,  William  passed  swiftly  to 
the  Western  University,  and  here  his  curiosity  threatened 
to  be  insatiable.  His  questions  indicated  that  Harvard 
and  Yale  could  tell  him  no  secrets,  but  of  this  more 
modern  institution  he  had  never  heard  until  the  day 
before;  and  an  enterprise  so  novel,  practical,  and  cheap 
appealed  irresistibly  to  a  ruler  bent  upon  modernizing 
his  country  and  making  it  the  strongest  industrially  in 
Europe.  He  made  no  secret  of  the  cause  of  his  interest, 
and  Fessenden  sympathized  heartily  with  the  ambitious 
and  energetic  young  monarch,  and  glowed  at  the  thought 
of  flinging  a  handful  of  American  seeds  broadcast  upon 
the  German  Empire.  But  at  the  end  of  an  hour  and  a 
quarter,  when  he  had  not  only  presented  a  picture  of 
the  university  in  all  its  complex  details,  from  its  methods 
of  military  drill  to  the  last  drop  of  grease  in  the  machine- 

94 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

shops,  but  had  sketched  the  personalities  of  all  the  pro 
fessors  and  the  most  notable  of  the  students,  the  stri 
dent  tones  of  the  august  interlocutor  seemed  to  be  bang 
ing  about  in  his  brain,  the  abrupt  rapid  firing  to  have 
torn  his  nerves  to  tatters.  The  impatient  action  of  his 
lungs  receiving  no  attention  from  his  host,  whose  eyes 
were  concentrated  and  glittering,  he  sprang  suddenly  to 
his  feet. 

"Look  here!"  he  exclaimed.  "I  really  can't  stand 
it  any  longer.  I'll  come  back  to-morrow,  if  you  like.  I 
think  you  are  a  great  man,  and  I'm  only  too  delighted 
to  help  you  in  any  way  I  can ,  but  if  you  ask  me  another 
question  to-day  I'll  jump  off  the  yacht." 

For  a  second  the  Emperor's  eyes  had  flashed  with  a 
haughty  surprise  which  gave  Fessenden  a  passing  glimpse 
of  outraged  majesty,  but  he  recovered  himself  swiftly, 
and  before  the  plaint  finished  he  had  sprung  to  his  feet 
and  grasped  Fessenden 's  hand,  looking  like  a  contrite 
school-boy. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  he  stammered.  "  How  inhospit 
able! — I  never  was  so  tactless  in  my  life.  But  you  have 
interested  me  so  deeply.  You  are  the  most  extraordi 
nary  young  man — will  you  forgive  me  ?  and  will  you  do 
me  the  honor  to  return  for  dinner?  Mr.  Abbott  comes 
too." 

A  warm  responsiveness  rushed  through  Fessenden 's 
veins  and  flashed  from  his  frank  impatient  eyes;  and  he 
returned  the  hearty  grasp  of  the  other's  hand.  But  al 
though  the  two  men  were  mutually  and  strongly  attract 
ed,  almost  to  the  point  of  effusiveness,  they  nevertheless, 
and  almost  unconsciously,  stared  hard  and  long  at  each 
other.  For  the  moment,  despite  aggressive  differences, 
they  looked  alike.  Their  personalities  pushed  aside  the 
mask  of  their  features  and  snatched  the  knowledge  that 
for  them  it  was  love  or  hate,  friendship  or  enmity, 

95 


RULERS     OF    KINGS 

mutual  assistance  or  a  bitter  lifelong  struggle,  which 
might  waste  their  energies  and  thwart  their  most  pas 
sionate  hopes. 

William  was  the  older  and  subtler.  He  laid  his  hand 
affectionately  on  his  new  friend's  shoulder.  "I  have 
suspected  something  of  your  father's  ultimate  plans  for 
you,"  he  said.  "Now  I  am  sure.  I  can  help  you  as 
much  as  you  can  help  me.  The  next  time  we  are  alone, 
turn  the  tables  and  ask  me  as  many  questions  as  you 
like.  There  is  no  reason  why  you  should  ever  remind 
yourself  that  I  am  an  Emperor  —  why  our  friendship 
should  not  be  as  informal  and  sincere  as  that  of  your 
charming  sister  and  the  daughter  of  the  Emperor  of 
Austria." 

"Do  you  know  my  sister?" 

"Of  course,  and  since  she  was  twelve  years  old.  But 
her  chosen  friend  is  my  sworn  enemy." 

That  night,  in  the  retirement  of  his  state-room,  Fes- 
senden  brushed  his  hair  backward  and  his  mustache  up 
right.  The  Emperor  at  dinner  had  drawn  his  coils  more 
closely.  He  had  been  brilliant,  demonstrative,  instruc 
tive,  humorous,  almost  unegotistical.  He  had  made 
Fessenden  shine  without  asking  a  question,  and  he  had 
toasted  Mr.  Abbott  in  the  effusive  rhetoric  with  which 
one  ripened  sovereign  disguises  his  fear  of  another. 
Fessenden  forgot  his  long  array  of  self-made  heroes- 
even  those  who  had  been  cradled  in  purple  and  yet  rid 
den  victoriously  through  the  pages  of  history.  He  took 
up  an  autographed  picture  of  William,  presented  at  part 
ing,  and  studied  it  attentively,  then  regarded  his  own 
smooth  young  face  with  dissatisfaction. 

"However,"  he  thought,  "in  his  earlier  photographs 
he  had  even  less  character  than  I  have.  It's  since  he 
got  his  own  way  that  he's  put  it  on  with  a  brush.  I 

96 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

suppose  I  can  have  that  eagle  roll  of  the  eye  in  time, 
too,  if  I  choose,  and  square  my  iron  jaw,  and  look  as  if 
I  were  hewn  out  of  finely  tempered  steel.  He  has  a 
sensitive  mouth,  all  the  same." 

In  a  moment  he  parted  his  short  hair  rapidly  and 
brushed  his  mustache  into  a  dejected  curve.  "I'd  like 
to  see  myself!"  he  thought,  with  some  irritation.  "He 
would  have  the  laugh  on  me  to-morrow!" 

He  sat  for  an  hour  and  pondered  deeply  on  all  that  had 
passed  between  himself  and  the  Emperor  of  Germany 
that  day.  Then  he  started  up  suddenly,  opened  the  door 
of  the  adjoining  state-room,  and  awakened  his  father. 

"What  does  William  want?"  he  demanded. 

"Europe  and  South  America,"  murmured  Mr.  Ab 
bott  sleepily. 

XXII 

The  tremendous  walls  of  the  fjord  were  black,  but  the 
moon  poured  in  a  flood  of  light.  There  had  been  a  sharp 
breeze  earlier  in  the  evening,  and  Fessenden  had  invited 
the  Emperor  out  in  Pocahontas;  then,  perceiving  the 
difficulty  of  keeping  him  quiet,  had  given  him  the  sheet. 
The  Emperor  had  accepted  the  invitation  with  alacrity 
— he  was  not  only  happy  and  at  home  in  a  canoe,  but 
although  he  had  now  had  several  long  conversations  with 
the  young  American,  something  in  this  new  personality 
evaded  him,  and  he  was  determined  to  find  it.  Fessen 
den,  on  the  other  hand,  was  studying  him  attentively, 
his  interest  in  the  most  remarkable  specimen  of  liv 
ing  royalty  quite  distinct  from  his  liking  for  the  man. 
William  had  not  refrained  from  questions  during  this  past 
week,  and  Fessenden  had  been  permitted  to  learn  Ger 
many  from  the  Throne.  When  he  had  mentioned  that 
he  intended,  a  year  or  two  hence,  to  tramp  the  Empire 
7  97 


RU  LERS    OF    KINGS 

and  study  it  from  another  point  of  view,  the  Kaiser  had 
promptly  extracted  a  promise  to  bring  the  burden  of  his 
information  to  Berlin. 

William  expressed  a  lively  sympathy  for  his  young 
friend's  desire  for  immediate  distinction,  and  confided 
some  of  the  difficulties  of  majesty  in  getting  its  own 
way.  Nevertheless  he  felt  that  Fessenden,  despite  his 
romantic  enthusiasm  for  himself,  was  frank  only  to  a 
certain  point.  He  thought  of  all  in  his  own  depths  that 
he  could  give  to  no  man,  and  forbore  to  press  him  too 
closely;  but  his  abnormally  acute  brain  suspected  some 
thing  in  that  deliberate  reserve  which  concerned  him 
self,  and  he  had  accepted  the  proposal  of  the  lonely  sail 
in  the  hope  of  an  impulsive  confidence.  He  had  no 
suspicion  that  the  younger  man  had  brought  him  out 
for  the  purpose  of  making  this  confidence. 

The  wind  fell,  and  they  left  the  canoe  to  stretch  their 
legs. 

"Do  you  really  believe  in  the  divine  right  of  kings?" 
asked  Fessenden  abruptly.  "I  mean  you." 

The  Emperor  stared,  then  laughed  outright.  "Cer 
tainly!"  he  announced  in  that  harsh  abrupt  voice  which 
conveyed  the  impression  that  he  had  not  the  patience  to 
lie.  Then,  having  his  own  reasons  for  expanding  under 
the  influence  of  the  lonely  moon,  he  added:  "Is  not  a 
peasant  a  peasant  by  divine  law?  How  much  more  a 
hereditary  ruler  with  his  terrible  responsibilities !  With 
our  vast  fund  of  inherited  knowledge  and  traditions, 
our  instinct  for  rule,  our  gift  of  commanding  respect 
and  obedience,  we  are  far  more  successful  as  rulers  than 
your  presidents,  chosen  every  four  or  eight  years  from 
all  sorts  and  conditions  of  life,  and  more  often  for  some 
unworthy  political  reason  than  for  any  merit  in  the 
man."  He  added  deliberately:  "The  monarchs  of  the 
earth  are  the  chosen  deputies  of  God  in  Heaven;  they 

98 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

rule  their  people  by  right  divine.  The  time  will  come 
when  you  will  feel  this  as  deeply  as  I  do  now.  Of  course 
my  understanding  is  illumined  with  the  torch  of  the 
centuries;  but  there  must  be  a  beginning,"  he  added 
graciously. 

"And  you  disassociate  yourself  absolutely  from  the 
race?" 

"Certainly.     So  will  you  one  day." 

"I  am  a  good  democrat,  and  I  believe  in  the  princi 
ples  of  the  American  Constitution  and  the  Declaration 
of  Independence." 

"Quite  so — as  long  as  they  are  permitted  to  hold;  but 
when  your  revolution  comes  they  will  go  down  with  the 
rest,  and  then  you  will  no  longer  be  a  democrat."  The 
pronounced  roll  of  William's  r-r-r-r's  made  him  utter 
the  last  word  as  if  he  hated  it. 

"  And  I  suppose  you  think  the  Monroe  Doctrine  would 
go  too?" 

"  It  would  be  as  well  to  begin  a  new  government  on  a 
sensible  international  basis,"  said  the  Emperor  dryly. 
"That  doctrine  only  maintains  its  fictitious  life  by  the 
courtesy,  or  perhaps  I  should  say  the  indifference — the 
present  indifference  —  of  Europe.  It  means  nothing 
until  you  have  established  it  by  force  of  arms.  It  would 
be  better  to  abandon  it  gracefully  while  there  is  yet 
time." 

The  two  men  were  picking  their  way  through  an  un 
even  pass.  Fessenden  halted  and  leaned  against  the 
wall  of  rock.  He  fixed  his  eyes,  which  in  the  brilliant 
night  light  shone  like  steel,  on  the  imperious  and  search 
ing  orbs  that  swung  round  him  abruptly. 

"It  is  by  converting  the  Monroe  Doctrine  from  a 
theory  into  a  principle  of  international  law  without  a 
war  with  Europe  that  I  propose  to  make  my  fame,"  he 
said. 

99 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

William's  pale  face  twitched,  then  settled  into  its 
hardest  lines.  He  returned  Fessenden's  stare,  and  there 
was  neither  friendship  nor  good-fellowship  in  his  eyes; 
he  was  a  monarch  on  the  alert  in  the  presence  of  the 
enemy.  It  was  a  moment  before  he  spoke ;  then  he  said 

coldly : 

"  It  is  a  large  and,  no  doubt,  patriotic  idea.  I  shall  be 
interested  to  watch  the  method  develop.  When  shall 
you  get  to  work?  When  shall  Europe  have  its  first 
astonished  glimpse  of  your  purpose?" 

"Europe  will  know  nothing  until  it  is  too  late  to 
interfere;  but  I  shall  tell  you  the  whole  scheme 
now." 

"Tell  me!"  cried  the  German  Emperor  in  his  astonish 
ment. 

"  I  owe  the  idea  to  you,  and,  crazy  as  it  may  appear,  I 
shall  confide  it  to  you.  I  should  be  rather  base  if  I  did 
not;  and  I  rely,  if  not  on  your  generosity,  then  on  your 
foresight,  to  let  me  alone.  You  can  have  Europe,  and 
welcome,  and  when  the  time  comes  that  you  need  my 
help  you  will  get  it;  but  you  can't  have  South  America 
—not  an  inch  of  it;  and  now  I'll  tell  you  why— 

"Suppose  I  decline  to  listen?"— and  none  but  himself 
could  know  what  it  cost  him  to  admit  that  possibility. 
But  the  excitable  color  had  flashed  into  his  face,  and  his 
eyes  were  glittering.  "If  I  do  listen,"  he  added  in  a 
moment,  "I  decline  to  commit  myself  beforehand." 

"It  won't  matter.  Even  if  you  betrayed  me  you 
could  not  obstruct  my  purpose.  Of  course  I  wish  my 
secret  kept.  Only  the  fool  takes  the  world  into  his  con 
fidence.  I  only  tell  you— well,  not  so  much  for  the  rea 
son  I  just  gave,  as  because  you  have  given  me  your 
friendship,  and  I  like  you  better  than  any  one  on  earth 
except  my  father.  You  would  have  suggested  the  idea 
in  any  case;  and  if  we  had  been  cut  out  for  enemies  I'd 

100 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

have  left  the  next  day,  and  it  would  have  been  a  year 
before  you  would  have  known  what  I  was  up  to." 

The  Emperor's  face  did  not  soften.  He  felt  anything 
but  sentimental.  "Why  are  you  so  sure  that  Europe — 
that  I — could  not  balk  you?"  he  asked. 

"Because  I  have  a  hundred,  million  dollars  at  my  dis 
posal  at  the  present  moment,  and  the  work  will  be  done 
before  you  can  cook  up  a  war  with  the  United  States." 

The  Emperor  turned  gray,  and  let  his  temper  fly. 
"Damn  your  American  billions!"  he  cried.  "If  I  could 
lay  my  hands  on  that  amount — 

"Well,"  said  Fessenden.  "When  the  time  comes 
you  can  have  it." 


PART   II 


'  T  WISH  I  had  been  born  in  Oshkosh  or  Massachu- 

JL  setts,"  said  the  Archduchess,  with  innocent  humor. 

"What  have  you  been  doing  with  yourself?"  asked 
Alexandra.  "Your  letters  were  long  enough,  but  they 
seemed  to  say  less  than  usual." 

The  Archduchess  Ranata  Theresia  took  her  friend  by 
the  arm  and  led  her  to  the  window.  The  fine  lace 
which  covered  it,  woven  with  the  double  eagle  of  the 
House  of  Hapsburg,  concealed  every  detail  of  the  room 
from  the  curious  below,  but  was  a  mere  veil  to  those 
behind  it. 

"Oh,  I  know  this  prospect!"  exclaimed  the  American 
girl. 

The  private  apartments  of  the  Hofburg  look  down 
upon  the  Franzensplatz,  an  oblong  court-yard  of  incon 
siderable  size,  surrounded  by  flat  and  dingy  walls,  its 
bare  surface  relieved  only  by  a  bronze  Hapsburg  leaning 
upon  all  the  virtues  he  knew  not  in  life.  Opposite  is 
the  guard-room.  In  the  court-yard  to-day  were  a  few 
tourists  staring  at  the  bronze  or  the  remains  of  the  moat 
and  the  gilded  armorial  bearings  on  the  eastern  side. 
All  sorts  and  conditions  of  people,  from  peasants  with 
their  market-baskets  to  the  hurrying  bourgeois  and  the 
member  of  Parliament,  took  the  short  cut  through  the 
Palace  court-yards,  while  private  carriages,  with  servants 
in  mediaeval  liveries,  and  rickety  cabs,  driven  by  reck 
less  shouting  kutschers,  awoke  the  hollow  echoes  of  the 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

deep  portals,  and  clattered  across  the  platz.  From  two 
of  the  upper  windows  housemaids  were  shaking  rugs, 
and  the  only  ornaments  of  the  dreary  scene  were  the 
tall  well-built  house-guards,  who,  lackeys  as  they  were, 
carried  their  all-round  horse-hair  plumes  and  glittering 
uniforms  with  the  elegance  and  distinction  so  indiscrim 
inately  lavished  by  Nature  upon  the  Austrian  race. 

"I  know  this  scene!"  repeated  Alexandra.  "And  I 
usually  turn  my  back  upon  it.  Why — -why — doesn't 
the  Emperor  have  the  private  apartments  on  the  Hel- 
denplatz,  where  at  least  you  might  see  trees  and  the 
tops  of  the  buildings  on  the  Ringstrasse  ?  This  would 
drive  some  people  melancholy  mad.  You  have  not 
been  standing  at  this  window  ever  since  I  left  you,  I 
hope?  Trotting  solemnly  round  the  riding  -  school  is 
better  than  that.  But  you  seem  to  have  been  in  Vienna 
more  than  usual  this  year.  I  congratulated  myself  that 
this  was  the  year  I  was  detained  in  New  York." 

"That  is  brutal!  I  have  only  left  this  prison  for  two 
months  at  Ischl.  Between  the  fire  at  Schonbrunn  and 
various  political  reasons,  we  have  been  here  since  you 
left — now  eight  months  ago!  And  as  you  are  my  only 
real  companion — !  I  do  sometimes  wish  I  had  been  born 
an  American." 

There  is  an  asylum  in  America  whenever  you  make 
up  your  mind  to  run.  I  have  a  handsome  determined 
and  adventurous  brother — he  has  heard  of  you!  You 
have  only  to  say  the  word  and  his  yacht  will  be  in  the 
Adriatic." 

"Don't  talk  romantic  nonsense.     I'm  not  up  to  it." 

The  Archduchess  turned  her  back  on  the  window  and 
sat  down  before  a  table  in  an  upright  chair.  Alexandra 
took  a  rocking-chair — one  of  three  she  had  long  since 
presented  to  the  Hofburg,  that  she  might  always  be 
sure  of  a  comfortable  seat.  Ranata  had  no  idea  what- 

106 


RULERS     OP    KINGS 

ever  of  comfort.  Her  morning  bath  was  supplied  by  a 
procession  of  servants  bringing  the  necessary  amount 
of  water  in  ewers — she  had  never  seen  water  gush  from 
pipes  except  into  a  fountain,  and  she  privately  believed 
that  rocking-chairs  were  a  relic  of  the  North  American 
Indian.  But  if  her  apartments  were  as  high  and  angular 
and  unhomelike  as  those  of  most  royal  palaces,  she  had 
a  decided  love  of  splendor,  and  originality  enough  to 
avoid  crimson  and  white  -  and  -  gold.  The  morbid  vir 
ginal  face  of  young  Ludvig  von  Bayern  looked  down 
from  the  wall  opposite  the  windows  of  her  salon,  and 
although  she  made  sport  of  his  vanity,  she  gave  the 
portrait  a  place  for  the  sake  of  its  beauty,  and  approved 
of  one  form  his  madness  had  taken.  The  walls  and 
windows  of  her  salon  were  panelled  with  blue  velvet 
lightly  embroidered  with  gold.  The  tables,  most  of  the 
ornaments,  several  chairs,  and  even  the  window-seats 
were  made  from  blocks  of  lapis  lazuli.  On  one  side  of 
the  lofty  room  were  her  books — English,  German, 
French,  and  Hungarian — bound  in  flexible  blue-and- 
white  morocco,  an  unconscious  tribute  perhaps  to  her 
humbler  Bavarian  blood.  Scattered  among  the  em 
broideries  on  the  walls  were  many  miniatures.  In  the 
small  writing-room  adjoining  was  a  large  desk  of  gilt 
and  lapis  lazuli,  with  furnishings  of  gold  and  blue  vellum. 
In  this  little  room  was  one  picture  only,  a  small  painting 
of  Rudolf  in  the  costume  of  the  Transylvanian  sports 
man.  The  frame  of  this  picture  was  eternally  hidden 
under  a  wreath  of  green  or  flowers. 

The  walls  of  her  bedroom  and  breakfast-room  were 
panelled  with  the  Gobelins  of  which  the  Hapsburgs  have 
the  monopoly  in  abundance  and  splendor.  Her  ancient 
narrow  bed,  surmounted  by  the  insignia  of  her  house 
clutching  at  a  mass  of  yellow  brocade  and  lace,  was  high 
on  a  dais.  Alexandra  declared  that  it  looked  like  a  cata- 

107 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

falque,  and  was  haunted  with  the  ennuis  and  miseries  of 
a  hundred  princesses  long  since  forgotten.  When  Ra- 
nata,  sleepless  and  in  want  of  sympathy,  demanded 
companionship,  she  was  forced  to  transfer  her  imperial 
person  into  the  enamelled  and  inlaid  but  wide  and 
modern  bed  of  her  American  friend,  who  did  what  she 
could  to  banish  ghosts.  Alexandra  had  diplomatically 
refurnished  her  apartments  by  degrees,  until  now  they 
were  those  of  a  young  American  who,  while  extrava 
gant  and  luxurious,  was  studious  of  music  and  books 
and  a  devotee  of  light  and  air.  Ranata  never  felt  at 
home  in  them,  but  they  exercised  over  her  a  certain 
fascination,  for  they  breathed  the  freedom  of  their 
owner's  personality. 

"I  am  told,"  continued  the  Archduchess,  still  with  an 
inflection  of  bitterness,  "that  there  are  people  who  envy 
royalty!" 

"That  is  your  safeguard — 'the  glamour.  It  is  that 
blinding  halo  more  than  any  other  cause  that  has  made 
this  country  rise  serenely  after  six  crushing  defeats  in 
one  century.  The  Lord's  anointed — genial  yet  remote 
— afflicted  beyond  all  men,  yet  carefully  preserved  to  his 
state  and  people — alive  yet  dead — kind  and  just  yet — " 

She  paused  abruptly,  for  although  Ranata  was  at 
times  extravagantly  informal  and  confidential  with  the 
one  friend  to  whom  her  rank  meant  nothing,  Alexandra, 
with  all  her  audacity,  never  ventured  beyond  a  certain 
point.  There  were  moments  when  Ranata's  ancestors 
rose  in  her  soul  and  peremptorily  ordered  up  the  draw 
bridge  which  the  lonely  princess  loved  to  fling  recklessly 
at  the  feet  of  her  American  friend;  to  taste  the  sweets  of 
girlish  intercourse,  unrestrained  by  the  fear  of  imperil 
ling  her  royal  dignity  or  untainted  by  the  suspicion  of 
self-interest.  There  was  no  honor  that  the  House  of 
Hapsburg  could  bestow  upon  the  American,  and  Ranata 

108 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

knew  that  court  life  was  too  old  a  story  to  offer  any  fur 
ther  attractions  to  Alexandra.  If  the  Archduchess  had 
not  been  fully  aware  that  the  Austrian  Court  was  the 
dullest  in  Europe,  Alexandra  would  have  enlightened 
her:  her  lively  friend  could  rehearse  every  word  that 
would  be  uttered  at  a  function,  the  tidbits  of  scandal 
that  would  be  murmured  at  royal  dinners  after  the  terrible 
interval  of  no  conversation  whatever.  But  for  Ranata 
she  cherished  a  deep  and  almost  romantic  affection, 
and  believed  her  existence  to  be  the  most  tragic  in  the 
world.  Had  it  been  possible — and  it  was  a  possibility 
of  which  she  never  despaired — she  would  have  carried 
her  off  to  New  York;  but  for  the  present  she  spent  six 
months  of  every  year  in  Austria,  and  sowed  seeds  of 
which  the  Emperor  and  his  court  knew  nothing;  for 
outside  the  privacy  of  these  rooms  she  was  more  Eu 
ropean  than  American.  Although  she  was  now  accepted 
as  a  matter  of  course,  for  several  years  the  haughtiest 
and  most  exclusive  people  on  earth  had  tolerated  her 
with  ill-concealed  resentment,  by  no  means  unexagger- 
ated  by  jealousy;  and  Alexandra,  feeling  that  the  pride 
of  her  country  was  involved,  to  say  nothing  of  her  own 
comfort,  had  succeeded  in  obliterating  all  trace  of  the 
alien.  Only  an  American  can  imagine  the  force  of  the 
reaction.  And  this  morning,  returning  after  a  long  ab 
sence  to  find  her  friend  more  than  ever  in  need  of  the 
diversion  she  knew  so  well  how  to  provide,  she  was  forced 
to  pause  suddenly  and  bite  her  lip.  But  Ranata's  an 
cestors  were  slumbering,  and  the  atmosphere  of  freedom 
came  subtly  to  her  nostrils. 

"If  possible,  my  father  is  more  of  a  machine  than 
ever,"  she  remarked  dryly.  "I  sometimes  think  that 
his  very  remarks  to  me  at  dinner — I  see  less  and  less  of 
him  anywhere  else  —  are  dictated  by  his  ministers.  I 
don't  blame  him,  poor  man,  for  being  afraid  to  love  any- 

109 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

body  again.  If  he  wants  to  be  a  machine,  I  should  be 
the  last  to  deny  him,  and  I  really  believe  that  he  now 
feels  nothing,  and  is  a  mere  automaton  from  four  in  the 
morning  until  he  goes  to  sleep  peacefully  at  nine  in  the 
evening.  I  wish  I  were  a  machine  myself.  It  must  be 
the  only  refuge  this  side  the  grave.  But  the  stupid 
physical  fact  is  that  my  nerve-cells  are  still  stronger 
than  my  fibrous  tissue,  and  I  must  wait  thirty  years  or 
so  for  Nature  to  do  her  work." 

"Your  afflictions  have  been  shocking,  poor  dear— 

"  I  am  not  thinking  of  my  afflictions.  No  one  experi 
enced  in  sorrow  will  ever  whine.  It  is  the  future  I  am 
thinking  of — to  say  nothing  of  the  present.  I  am 
twenty-eight.  Except  when  you  are  here  I  am  utterly 
without  companionship,  unless,  to  be  sure,  when  I  am 
in  the  country  on  a  horse.  Here  in  Vienna,  as  you 
know,  I  rarely  leave  the  Hofburg — leave  these  rooms 
only  for  the  riding-school  or  some  other  part  of  the 
palace;  for  my  father — or  his  ministers — seems  to  dis 
like  more  and  more  the  attention  I  attract  whenever  I 
show  myself  abroad — " 

She  paused  abruptly  and  gave  a  curious  sidelong 
glance  at  her  friend. 

"You  have  been  thinking  of  matrimony!"  exclaimed 
Alexandra. 

"Yes — twice  during  the  past  year.  I  have  been  al 
most  tempted  to  consider  it — almost,  but  not  quite. 
The  change  would  be  too  temporary.  If  there  is  one 
thing  that  must  surpass  the  eternal  boredom  of  unmar 
ried  royal  women,  it  is  putting  up  with  a  wired  au 
tomaton  and  bearing  his  sickly  children.  And  liberty! 
Now,  at  least,  I  can  lock  these  doors,  and  even  my  fa 
ther  would  not  force  them,  and  my  ladies  are  only  too 
glad  to  be  relieved  of  my  society.  But  perhaps  I  have 
spoken  too  strongly.  In  solitude  I  have  found  much 

no 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

happiness.  I  can  dream  and  dream,  and  forget  that  not 
the  least  of  my  dreams  can  ever  come  true." 

She  had  spoken  flippantly,  quite  brutally,  but  she 
finished  with  an  accent  of  profound  sadness. 

"You  will  become  morbid  if  you  are  not  careful," 
said  Miss  Abbott  seriously.  "Only  the  deliberately 
cultivated  reasonableness  with  which  you  have  accepted 
this  deadly — and  ridiculous — life  of  yours,  and  the  su 
perhuman  control  you  have  acquired  over  your  natural 
impatience  and  impulsiveness,  have  saved  you  so  far. 
But  thirty  is  a  dangerous  age.  I  am  beginning  to  feel 
it  myself — wasted  emotions,  opportunities,  passing 
youth — all  that  sort  of  thing.  You,  my  dear,  grow 
more  beautiful  every  day,  and  your  beauty  has  done 
you  so  little  good!  Gasps  and  murmurs  as  you  trail 
down  between  the  tapestries  of  the  Great  Hall  of  Cere 
monies  in  the  most  gorgeous  white  gowns  ever  seen, 
or  ride  once  a  year  or  so  in  the  Prater!"  She  paused 
a  moment,  and  then  added  deliberately:  "Why  not  cut 
it?  It  is  incongruous  and  monstrous  to  see  the  most 
intelligent  women  in  Europe  cramped  in  a  three-by-six 
cage  like  one  of  Louis  XL's  victims.  What  keeps  you? 
Nothing  but  the  silliest  superstition  in  the  world  to-day, 
drivelling  out  its  precarious  existence.  You  have  your 
own  money.  My  father  can  double  and  treble  it.  My 
step -mother  would  preserve  you  from  all  scandal.  You 
could  exercise  your  gifts  and  have  a  career,  or  marry 
and  be  happy.  Come  along — don't  be  an  idiot." 

"There  is  just  one  thing  you  never  can  understand. 
I  know  you  think  we  are  fatuous,  if  not  mad,  to  believe 
ourselves  heaven-born,  divinely  appointed;  but  here  we 
are,  we  have  our  inherited  duties,  and  here  we  must  re 
main.  Ourselves  are  the  last  we  are  permitted  to  con 
sider  from  our  coming  to  our  going.  We  corne  into  this 
world  with  a  birthright  of  obligations  to  millions  of 

in 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

people  whose  ancestors  permitted  us  first  to  mount  the 
throne — in  our  case  eight  centuries  ago!  We  Haps- 
burgs  have  been  threatened  with  annihilation,  we  have 
lost  much  that  was  precious,  the  German  Empire  over 
shadows  and  threatens  us,  and  God  knows  what  will 
happen  when  my  father  dies.  But  although  our  star 
has  often  turned  black,  it  has  never  gone  out.  It  has  a 
way  of  flashing  up  from  its  embers  and  disconcerting 
Europe  that  suggests  eternal  fires — if  they  are  carefully 
watched.  And  it  is  the  hearth  fires  that  need  watching. 
William's  ambitions  will  come  to  nothing  if  our  people 
stand  firm.  I  have  no  illusion  regarding  the  real  dan 
ger.  So  long  as  my  father  lives  we  are  safe  against  the 
worst  that  revolutionists  can  do.  But  Rudolf  is  dead! 
Both  Austria  and  Hungary  detest  the  Heir,  that  cold 
bigot,  who  has  never  a  smile  for  the  people.  And  court 
life  will  cease  when  he  comes  to  the  throne,  for  it  is  not 
likely  he  will  divorce  that  woman  and  marry  a  princess. 
Only  the  most  watchful  care  can  save  us.  The  Hun 
garians  are  straining  at  the  bit  all  the  time,  and  the 
moment  disintegration  begins  William  will  find  some 
pretext  to  march  in.  He  will  lose  no  more  time  than 
Frederick  lost  when  he  saw  a  woman  ascend  a  tottering 
throne.  Although  I  am  permitted  to  take  no  part  in 
politics,  I  still  have  a  r61e  to  play  which  is  of  almost  as 
much  importance  to  my  country  as  my  father's.  One 
of  my  obligations  is  to  make  the  world  believe  that  a 
princess  is  above  ordinary  temptations  and  weaknesses 
— a  tradition  which  the  Hapsburgs  have  done  more 
than  any  royal  house  to  obliterate — and  that  makes  my 
personal  duty  the  more  obvious.  Another  thing,  as 
you  know — to  the  world  I  am  not  even  the  individual. 
During  these  last  ten  years  my  study  has  been  to  per 
suade  my  father's  people  that  I  am  the  conventional, 
safely  stupid,  and  normal  princess,  to  make  them  forget 

112 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

my  mother's  supposed  gift  to  this  House.  If  I  should 
do  what  you  propose,  Austria  would  either  assume  that 
I  was  as  mad  as  Ludvig  and  Otto,  or,  were  they  con 
vinced  that  I  had  a  better  brain  than  my  sort,  they 
would  accept  my  act  as  a  deliberate  insult  to  the  mo 
narchical  idea.  In  either  case  I  should  loosen  one  more 
stone  in  these  rotting  foundations  of  ours.  Marriage 
out  of  class,  elopement,  a  whispered  intrigue  —  they  are 
accustomed  to  all!  But  a  deliberate  renunciation, 
based  on  non-sentimental  grounds,  a  flight  to  America 
—that  would  be  the  new  thing  with  a  vengeance,  and  it 
is  only  the  innovation  that  tells.  Oh,  if  Rudolf  had 
lived.  If  Rudolf—  *Rudolf—  " 

She  pushed  back  her  chair  violently,  banished  the 
seriousness  from  her  face. 

11  Enough  of  this  infliction.  I  have  opened  the  safety- 
valves  and  feel  better.  Come,  show  me  your  new 
frocks.  Are  they  finer  than  mine?  What  have  you 
brought  me  from  New  York?  And  the  bonbons!  the 
bonbons!  Do  you  know  where  we  go  two  weeks  from 
to-day?  To  Hungary,  for  the  autumn  manoeuvres.  I 
am  so  glad!  I  have  not  been  to  Budapest  since  I  was 
a  child.  I  long  to  go.  I  love  Hungary.  It  dares  to  re 
bel,  and  sometimes  it  gets  what  it  wants.  And  our  dear 
cousin  Willy  is  to  be  our  guest.  He's  bound  to  come 
with  a  sensation  up  his  sleeve.  Sometimes  I  regret 
that  I  was  not  old  enough  to  marry  him,  for  although  I 
fear  and  sometimes  hate  him,  life  with  him  might  have 
been  interesting,  for  he  at  least  is  a  man." 


II 

When  Alexandra  was  twelve  years  old  Mrs.  Abbott 
had  taken  her  to  Vienna  to  consult  a  famous  surgeon 
8  113 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

for  a  threatened  deformity.  He  had  commanded  that 
the  child  be  left  under  his  care  for  at  least  five  years, 
and  Mrs.  Abbott,  whose  devotion  to  her  husband 
amounted  to  a  mannerism,  left  her  with  an  old  friend,  a 
Hungarian,  whose  infinite  quarterings  made  her  one  of 
that  small  band  so  closely  allied  with  the  court  that 
they  have  never  learned  to  snub,  since  nobody  has 
ever  dared  to  take  a  liberty  with  them.  This  lady, 
who  had  married  one  of  the  Princes  Windischgratz, 
had  formed  a  friendship  with  Mrs.  Abbott  in  her  im 
pulsive  youth  when  the  American's  father  had  been 
minister  to  Austria,  renewing  it  when  she  returned  as 
the  wife  of  a  secretary  of  Legation.  The  young  hus 
band  had  died  in  Vienna,  and  the  Princess  had  shown 
a  sincere  and  spontaneous  sympathy  which  cemented 
their  friendship  into  an  intimacy  where  each  might  dare 
to  accept  a  favor  from  the  other.  She  also  extravagant 
ly  admired  the  American's  toilettes,  having  a  natural 
and  exquisite  taste,  and  rebelling  at  the  frequent  neces 
sity  to  wear  an  old  gown,  soiled  and  frayed,  perhaps, 
under  her  load  of  family  jewels.  After  her  friend  mar 
ried  the  chieftain  of  millions,  she  visited  her  in  New 
York  and  Newport,  and  was  deeply  impressed  with  a 
style  of  living  far  more  comfortable  and  luxurious  than 
anything  in  Europe,  and  quite  as  magnificent.  Im 
mobile  to  a  world  whose  existence  she  barely  admitted, 
with  her  own  class  she  was  simple  and  natural;  and  Mrs. 
Abbott  having  acquired  the  same  tactics  in  an  early  ex 
perience  of  European  courts,  there  was  no  marked  ex 
ternal  difference  between  these  two  exalted  dames,  and 
much  in  common.  The  friendship  never  waned,  for  Mrs. 
Abbott  was  frequently  in  Europe,  and  was  the  first 
American  to  dress  in  Vienna;  when,  therefore,  she  was 
for  once  in  a  way  confronted  with  a  serious  problem,  the 
Princess  came  gallantly  to  the  rescue,  and  Alexandra 

114 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

for  three  years  lived  in  a  palace  immense  and  chilly, 
but  as  full  of  old  furniture  and  pictures  as  a  museum, 
and  often  of  gay  Hungarian  relatives  who  played  high 
and  slept  late. 

The  "  Princess  Sarolta,"  as  she  was  known  to  the  elect, 
was  a  woman  of  much  heart  and  cynicism,  of  strong 
loves  and  stronger  hates.  Without  children  of  her  own, 
one  of  the  deepest  affections  of  her  life  had  been  for  the 
Archduke  Rudolf.  Her  pet  aversion  had  been  the  Em 
press,  whom  she  denounced  as  a  mixture  of  the  country 
girl  and  the  mystic,  wholly  unfit  to  wear  a  crown.  She 
never  forgave  her  for  being,  not  von  Bayern,  but  in 
Bayern;  and  when,  in  addition  to  the  comparative  in 
significance  of  her  birth,  the  sweet  and  gentle  but  shy 
and  unhappy  Empress  treated  a  throne  with  contumely 
and  sought  the  consolations  of  the  inner  life,  the  Prin 
cess  became  her  most  contemptuous  enemy. 

To  Ranata  the  Princess  transferred  the  affection  she 
had  given  to  Rudolf,  although  it  was  unmixed  with  the 
enthusiasm  inspired  by  the  brilliant  if  reckless  hope  of  a 
house  to  which  she  was  loyally  devoted.  When  Alex 
andra  was  left  on  her  hands  Rudolf  was  still  alive,  but 
she  was  much  interested  in  the  rebellious  little  Arch 
duchess,  who  in  looks  and  temperament  was  unlike  her 
mother  or  any  of  the  recent  Hapsburg  women;  and 
partly  out  of  sympathy,  partly  because  it  pleased  her 
to  do  one  original  thing  in  her  life,  she  brought  the  two 
children  together  on  all  their  holidays. 

They  promptly  gave  to  each  other  their  hoarded  stores 
of  affection.  Alexandra,  lively,  fearless,  without  awe  of 
rank,  yet  with  too  much  inherited  and  inculcated  taste  to 
take  the  wrong  sort  of  liberty  with  the  humblest  of  her 
friends,  seemed  in  the  nature  of  a  divine  gift  to  a  prin 
cess  who  was  never  permitted  to  forget  her  rank  by  the 
children  of  the  court  circle.  These  little  girls  came, 

"5 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

when  invited,  with  phrases  and  sentiments  carefully 
drilled,  their  small  minds  already  agitated  by  the  possi 
bility  of  future  favors.  They  bored  and  exasperated 
their  intelligent,  if  imperious  and  highly  strung,  hostess; 
the  more  so  that  her  courtesy  must  be  unwavering,  lest  she 
remind  them  of  their  inferiority  in  rank.  But  Alexandra 
slapped  her  when  she  was  angry,  and  hugged  her  when 
the  tide  of  her  young  and  ardent  affections  rose,  indulged 
in  ribald  merriment  at  the  rigid  Spanish  etiquette  of  the 
court,  the  chill  magnificence  of  the  ceremonial  rooms, 
of  the  army  of  splendid  guards  and  chamberlains  and 
lackeys,  and  the  many  other  inconsistencies  with  the 
daily  democracy  of  the  court -yards  and  the  general  ex 
ternal  dinginess  and  internal  discomfort  of  the  wealthiest 
house  in  Europe.  But  to  the  Emperor  she  accorded 
an  unwavering  respect,  and  she  always  amused  him, 
When,  after  the  terrible  loss  of  his  only  son — a  tragedy 
which  practically  banished  his  wife  from  his  homes— 
Ranata  was  first  ill,  then  melancholy,  clinging  to  hei 
chosen  friend  day  and  night,  he  had  given  his  indifferent 
consent  to  the  American  remaining  in  the  Hofburg  unti' 
his  daughter  could  live  without  her.  That  time  had  not 
yet  arrived,  and  although  the  incongruity  of  an  Americar 
inmate  of  the  Hofburg  sometimes  entered  the  carefully 
occupied  brain  of  a  monarch  whose  traditions  would  not 
permit  him  to  receive  the  bourgeoise  wife  of  the  greatest 
of  his  subjects,  and  bade  him  ignore  the  distinguished 
in  art  and  letters,  yet  was  he  so  grateful  for  any  cause 
that  might  lessen  the  problem  of  his  youngest  born  that 
he  deferred  indefinitely  a  half -cherished  protest.  He 
believed  Alexandra's  influence  to  be  wholesome,  and  h( 
dreaded  the  scene  which  he  knew  must  follow  any  at 
tempt  to  reduce  the  friendship  to  a  more  formal  footing 
Ranata  had  pounded  shrieking  on  his  door  more  thar 
once. 

116 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

So  the  years  had  passed,  the  children  had  played  and 
studied  together,  and  been  satisfied  with  their  lot,  and 
no  specific  excuse  had  ever  arrived  to  interfere  with  an 
arrangement  to  which  even  the  Emperor  became  too 
accustomed  in  time  to  question. 

After  Alexandra's  physical  trouble  was  over,  Mr.  Ab 
bott  had  insisted  that  she  spend  her  summers  on  his 
Hudson  River  estate,  where  he  could  see  her  daily,  make 
sure  she  passed  the  greater  part  of  her  time  out  of  doors, 
and  preserved  her  Americanism.  He  had  no  objection 
to  her  close  friendship  with  the  Hapsburg,  for  he  had  a 
far-seeing  eye,  moreover  fully  appreciated  the  education 
she  would  have  under  the  royal  tutors,  the  simple  food 
and  habits,  and,  not  of  the  least  importance  to  this  er 
ratic  American  father,  the  strict  discipline  to  which  the 
heiress  of  many  millions  would  be  subjected.  But  he 
invariably  informed  her,  every  year  when  he  escorted 
her  to  the  steamer,  that  the  first  time  she  returned  with 
any  "airs,"  any  reduction  in  the  sum  of  her  American 
ism,  that  would  be  the  last  she  would  see  of  her  beloved 
Ranata.  Doubtless  the  advice  was  salutary,  as  all  ad 
vice  is;  but  Alexandra  from  the  first  had  perceived 
the  advantage  her  Americanism  gave  her  over  the  born 
subjects  of  royalty .  Not  only  did  her  national  exemp 
tion  from  the  courtier's  deference  and  her  unconscious 
indifference  to  future  favors  exercise  a  wild  and  pict 
uresque  charm,  but  her  exciting  yarns  of  Western  ad 
venture,  spun  for  the  most  part  out  of  a  fertile  imagina 
tion,  her  astonishing  games,  labelled  "American,"  won 
her  the  unswerving  admiration  of  Ranata  and  almost 
conquered  the  jealousies  of  the  other  little  girls.  As 
she  grew  older  she  became  fully  aware  that  her  influence 
over  the  Archduchess,  aside  from  the  deep  mutual  affec 
tion,  lay  in  her  fine  careless  independence  and  her  utter 
unlikeness  to  anything  in  Europe. 

117 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

The  influence  of  the  girls  on  each  other  was  of  mutual 
benefit.  The  deep  serious  nature  of  the  Archduchess, 
with  her  centuries  of  storied  impressions,  her  lofty  sense 
of  duty,  even  in  her  most  rebellious  moments,  did  much 
to  remodel  the  lighter  nature,  the  slenderer  mental  and 
ethical  equipment  of  the  American  girl.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  absolutely  fearless  outlook  of  Alexandra,  her 
unswerving  American  point  of  view  and  republican  ideal, 
combined,  as  she  grew  older,  with  a  close  knowledge  of 
European  politics,  her  habit  of  thinking  for  herself,  her 
mere  tolerance  of  Old  World  standards  and  traditions, 
her  eager  interest  in  new  thoughts  and  movements, 
early  awakened  emulation  in  the  brilliant  Austrian, 
made  her  eager  to  lengthen  her  vision,  to  comprehend 
the  thought  of  the  more  sensible  of  the  liberated  women 
out  in  the  world;  finally  taught  her  to  project  herself 
beyond  the  royal  horizon,  to  feel  and  to  know  how  it 
was  with  humanity  in  its  multitudes. 

Alexandra  watched  the  two  personalities  in  her  friend 
grow  and  flourish  coincidently ;  the  one  uncompromising, 
traditional,  bigotedly  loyal  to  her  house  and  condition; 
the  other  tragically  human,  womanly,  broad,  generous, 
passionate,  sympathizing  with  the  masses  in  their  strug 
gle  for  happiness. 

As  Ranata  grew  older,  the  two  women  in  her  held 
many  an  excited  controversy;  there  were  hours  of  pro 
found  depression,  discouragement,  rebellion,  abhorrence 
of  the  royal  treadmill,  and  a  wild  pagan  love  of  mere  ex 
istence.  Encouraged  by  Alexandra,  she  had  taken  an 
early  stand  against  matrimony.  Twice,  however,  she 
had  submitted  to  her  father's  wishes,  and  permitted  her 
self  to  be  affianced;  but  one  of  her  princes  dying  before 
the  wedding-day  and  the  other  disgracing  himself,  she 
announced  that  she  had  now  done  all  that  could  be  ex 
pected  of  her,  and  should  be  permitted  to  remain  single. 

118 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

The  Emperor  acknowledged  the  justice  of  her  argument 
and  bided  his  time.  Of  his  daughter's  intense  inner  life 
he  knew  nothing,  but  he  recognized  that  he  had  an 
individual,  not  a  mere  princess,  on  his  hands,  and  he 
humored  her  as  far  as  was  in  his  power  and  consistent 
with  her  conspicuous  position.  Liberty  beyond  palace 
walls  or  royal  enclosures  was  not  to  be  considered; 
tradition  was  tradition,  even  to  the  toothpicks  on  the 
imperial  table;  moreover,  although  she  bore  no  resem 
blance  to  her  mother,  fate  had  spared  her  the  growling 
visage  of  the  Hapsburgs,  and,  unlike  most  royal  women, 
she  looked  born  to  crown  and  purple.  To  the  world  she 
was  the  princess,  the  goddess,  a  valuable  asset  for  any 
reigning  house;  and,  tradition  aside,  the  glorified  ideal  of 
a  vast  and  restless  people  must  not  be  vulgarized,  nor 
even  dimmed.  But  although  she  had  her  separate  house 
hold  and  a  large  income  to  spend  on  her  wardrobe  and 
private  fancies,  the  Emperor  and  his  ministers  had  no 
intention  that  a  young,  healthy,  and  beautiful  princess 
should  carry  out  her  romantic  programme  of  being  an 
old  maid.  Happy  in  their  ignorance  of  her  resources, 
they  occasionally  frowned  over  the  shrinking  list  of 
eligible  princes.  Early  plans  to  place  her  on  two  of  the 
highest  thrones  in  Europe  had  been  frustrated  by  a 
method  so  simple  that  neither  the  Emperor  nor  his  ad 
visers  had  ever  penetrated  the  mystery.  Ranata  had 
treated  each  of  the  visiting  young  princes  to  a  furious 
exhibition  of  temper,  which,  taken  in  connection  with 
her  red  hair  and  American  influences,  appeared  to  them 
to  be  of  alarming  domestic  significance.  The  impres 
sion  was  ineradicably  fixed  by  the  ingenious  and  terrible 
tales  poured  into  their  ears  by  the  fertile  Alexandra. 

Men  had  loved  her,  but  as  men  love  a  picture  or  a  char 
acter  in  history;  they  hardly  knew  her  better,  for  she  was 
too  proud  for  intrigue,  and  conversation  in  the  presence 

119 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

of  a  watchful  court  is  neither  sympathetic  nor  enlight 
ening.  Moreover,  her  Obersthofmeisterin,  the  Arch 
duchess  Maria  Leopoldina,  was  the  most  anxious  duenna 
that  ever  had  princess  in  charge,  and  the  boldest  officer 
dared  not  brave  that  protecting  wing. 

Ranata  had  her  dreams,  her  ideals,  but  she  found  her 
heroes  in  history;  a  few  ballroom  flirtations  completed 
the  sum  of  her  interest  in  mere  mortals.  Knowing  that 
earthly  love  and  passion  were  not  for  her,  she  did  what 
she  could  to  forget  their  existence,  occupied  her  mind 
and  wearied  her  body.  The  cruel  afflictions  of  her  fam 
ily  chastened  her  somewhat,  but  she  still  had  her  hours 
of  intense  rebellion,  caught  her  imagination  on  the  wing 
in  a  future  which  never  before  had  risen  on  the  horizon 
of  what  is  technically  known  as  "the  Great." 


Ill 

"This  is  certainly  an  improvement  on  the  Hofburg," 
said  Alexandra.  "It  is  the  only  palace  I  have  ever 
seen  that  looks  like  a  palace,  not  a  museum,  barrack,  or 
hospital ;  and  Budapest  is  as  picturesque  a  setting  for  the 
kings  and  queens  one  reads  about  in  books.  The  Dan 
ube  is  not  blue,  but  it  moves — it  moves — and  its  islands 
are  certainly  green.  The  illuminations  last  night  looked 
as  if  the  stars  had  come  down  to  kow-tow  to  the  Hoken- 
zollern.  He  has  indulged  in  much  affectionate  rhetoric, 
but  has  not  yet  broken  loose.  I  wonder  if  he  will  to 
night?" 

"He  is  sure  to,  I  should  think.  And  I  understand 
that  he  fell  on  Count  Andrassy's  neck  this  morning  with 
a  rhapsody  of  Count  Julius — to  whom  we  certainly  owe 
the  strongest  tie  that  now  binds  Hungary  to  us.  What 
children  the  Hungarians  are  to  be  so  flattered  by  this 

120 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

visit!  They  could  have  shown  no  greater  enthusiasm 
for  a  Charlemagne." 

"He  is  the  one  picturesque  figure  in  Europe,  my 
dear." 

"And  the  one  man  who  could  have  outshone  him  is 
dead!  The  Hungarians  worshipped  Rudolf;  the  peas 
ants  will  not  believe  that  he  is  dead ;  but  this  romantic 
hot-blooded  people  must  be  enthusiastic  about  some 
body,  and  my  father  is  too  old.  William  is  young;  he 
looks  the  Emperor;  he  is  as  ambitious  as  Napoleon;  there 
is  an  idea  abroad  that  he  dangles  the  scales  of  Europe 
in  his  fingers.  Oh,  if  I  had  been  born  a  man!" 

The  two  girls  were  standing  on  the  balcony  of  the  pri 
vate  suite  of  apartments  formerly  occupied  by  the  Em 
press  Elizabeth  when  playing  the  part  of  Queen  of  Hun 
gary.  Down  on  their  left,  beyond  the  Danube  with  its 
mighty  bridges,  was  the  beautiful  and  busy  city  of  Pest. 
Opposite  them,  on  the  most  precipitous  height  of  Buda, 
were  the  ruins  of  the  citadel.  The  palace,  a  vast  and 
symmetrical  pile  of  nearly  a  thousand  rooms,  crowns  the 
lowest  ridge  of  a  mountain-range  which  slopes  in  irreg 
ular  masses  to  the  river.  Behind  rises  the  long  shoulder 
of  the  Schwabenberg,  its  arm  curved  downward  in  the 
north  to  grasp  the  Danube. 

The  great  hills  were  brilliant  with  autumnal  color; 
many  boats  were  on  the  river;  the  world  was  promenad 
ing  on  the  corsos ;  the  flags  streaming  from  every  win 
dow  were  gayer  than  the  woods.  Far  below,  at  the  foot 
of  the  Palace  Hill,  in  one  of  the  cafes  on  the  quay,  the 
girls  could  hear  the  music  of  the  Chardash,  and  held 
their  breath  as  its  wild  note  of  longing  changed  to  furious 
appeal. 

"This  is  living!"  said  Alexandra.  "I  feel  romantic 
for  the  first  time  in  my  life.  Can't  we  stay  here?" 

"  It  is  perfect      I  should  be  happy — almost ;  content  if 

121 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

he  were  not  here.  But  he  must  have  taught  the  very 
Hungarians  the  hollowness  of  their  fictitious  love  for 
my  father.  They  have  too  much  to  forgive!  They 
never  will  forgive  it.  He  is  old.  He  has  suffered  great 
ly.  They  pity  him.  That  is  all.  And  William  knows 
that.  He  has  chosen  this  moment  of  uneasiness  in 
Europe  to  come  here,  looking  the  invincible  young  mon 
arch,  bursting  with  arrogance  and  daring  and  the  suc 
cess  of  his  reign.  No  wonder  the  susceptible  Hungarians 
think  him  the  chosen  of  God,  and  assured  of  infinite  con 
quest.  Did  you  see  the  Pester  Lloyd  this  morning? 
4  Till  now  it  is  the  minds  of  the  Hungarians  which,  with  its 
own  mind,  Emperor  William  knew  how  to  conquer,  but 
he  evidently  knows  as  well  how  to  conquer  the  hearts. 
This  he  proved  to-day  once  more,  and  we  can  only  give  him 
the  assurance  that  of  all  the  languages  in  the  world,  it  is 
the  language  of  the  heart  which  in  Hungary  is  best  un 
derstood.'  Oh,  if  I  were  a  man!" 

"I  wouldn't  let  a  little  thing  like  that  stop  me.  Your 
brain  is  as  good  as  his,  and  you  have  all  the  courage  of 
all  your  ancestors.  In  more  ways  than  one  you  are  like 
him  who  prompted  the  old  bishop  to  cry,  'Sit  fast,  Lord 
God,  or  Rudolf  will  occupy  thy  throne!'  Times  are 
times,  but  I  don't  believe  that  all  your  talents  were  given 
to  you  for  no  purpose." 

"I  believe  in  the  blind  law  of  cause  and  effect.  It  is 
only  in  my  wildest  moments  that  I  have  dreamed  that 
the  first  Rudolf  and  Maria  Theresia  circled  low  when  I 
was  born  and  shook  a  bit  of  their  golden  dust  into  my 
brain-cells — I  hate  to  talk  nonsense!  Here  come  two 
carriages  across  the  bridge,  the  first  of  the  guests,  no 
doubt.  We  had  better  go  in,  it  is  a  quarter  to  five. 
Mind  you  are  careful  not  to  allude  to  my  father  here  as 
'The  Emperor.'  That  is  a  great  point  in  Hungary." 

"If  fate  ever  should  whirl  you  to  the  throne,  Ranata, 
122 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

for  Heaven's  sake  have  dinner  at  a  Christian  hour.  I 
have  indigestion  for  a  month  every  time  I  come  back 
from  America." 

The  girls,  who  had  stepped  out  on  the  balcony  in  the 
broad  light  of  afternoon,  ignoring  the  protests  of  Maria 
Leopoldina,  who,  rather  than  carry  the  mausoleum  of 
her  charms  into  the  sunshine,  had  retired  in  dudgeon, 
were  dressed  for  a  great  banquet  to  be  given  at  five 
o'clock  to  the  guest  of  the  King  of  Hungary,  the  Ger 
man  Emperor.  The  Archduchess,  who,  with  some  rea 
son,  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  life  with  her  was  to 
be  a  sequence  of  weeds,  interrupted  by  intervals  of  un 
certain  duration,  varied  her  black  with  white  only. 
Nevertheless,  she  was  one  of  the  best-dressed  women  in 
Europe,  and  only  her  patient  tire-women  knew  the  in 
finite  range  of  her  wardrobe.  ''I  often  sigh  for  color," 
she  confided  once  to  her  American  friend,  "but  I  am 
too  superstitious  to  venture.  And  perhaps  it  is  as  well. 
My  r61e  is  the  princess  of  the  antique,  the  traditional 
pattern.  In  white  I  look  ready  for  a  memorial  window 
or  a  bas-relief  in  the  Augustin."  To  which  Alexandra 
had  replied  practically,  "To  say  nothing  of  the  fact  that 
it  makes  your  own  coloring  twice  as  strong  as  it  would 
be  above  a  brilliant  plumage." 

Certainly  the  gown  of  white  velvet  embroidered  with 
pearls  and  silver  which  she  wore  to-day  in  honor  of  her 
enemy  enhanced  her  statuesque  appearance,  and  gave 
her  sharp  black  brows,  the  scarlet  of  her  lips,  and  the 
brilliant  masses  of  her  hair  an  insolent  effect  of  being 
able  to  supply  all  the  color  that  a  dazzled  beholder 
could  endure.  The  almost  fierce  incongruousness  of  her 
coloring  might  have  defeated  her  attempt  to  convince 
the  world  that  a  mere  princess  dwelt  within  that  virile 
shell,  had  it  not  been  for  the  cold  regularity  of  an 
Egyptian  profile  carried  loftily  above  a  form  of  antique 

123 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

height  and  mould,  and  a  skin  so  white  that  despairing 
man  had  vowed  there  was  sacrilege  in  the  thought  of 
its  being  put  to  mortal  use.  Her  gray  eyes  were  alert 
and  so  expressive  that  she  had  formed  the  habit  of  hold 
ing  them  half  closed,  and  her  black  lashes  were  very 
thick.  She  had  inherited  her  hands  and  feet  from  her 
Spanish  ancestors;  while  not  out  of  proportion  to  her 
great  height,  they  were  so  finely  fashioned  that  they 
looked  too  small  for  serious  work.  Her  trick  of  eyebrow 
and  shoulder,  when  animated,  may  have  indicated  the 
persistence  of  the  French  blood  brought  in  by  Francis 
of  Lorraine.  Nature,  unspiteful  for  once  to  royal  women, 
had  given  her  the  infrequent  best  of  her  ancestors,  and 
even  modified  the  not  unpleasing  nose  that  Elizabeth 
of  Brunswick  had  presented  to  the  Hapsburgs.  Ranata 
had  immense  strength,  had  been  ill  but  once  in  her  life, 
hardly  ever  had  experienced  the  sensation  of  utter  fa 
tigue.  Her  horsemanship  was  as  remarkable  as  her 
mother's  had  been;  and  when  she  appeared  in  the  Prater 
beside  the  equally  accomplished  Emperor,  it  was  a  sight 
that  no  man  ever  forgot.  She  broke  in  her  own  horses; 
when  in  the  country,  frequently  groomed  and  saddled 
them.  After  Alexandra,  they  were  her  only  intimates, 
and  she  had  known  her  keenest  happiness  when  riding 
eight  hours  of  the  day  through  the  forests  of  Upper 
Austria. 

Alexandra  never  accompanied  the  Archduchess  on 
her  longer  walks  and  rides.  She  was  an  accomplished 
horse-woman  and  a  resigned  pedestrian,  but  she  had 
the  frail  physique  of  her  race,  and  had  been  born  of  a 
hard-working  fashionable  mother  with  none  of  that  pro 
found  sense  of  parental  responsibility  so  ingrained  in 
the  European  from  queen  to  peasant.  She  was  hand 
some  rather  than  beautiful;  her  eyes  were  too  analyti 
cal,  her  mouth  betrayed  too  pronounced  a  scorn  of  the 

124 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

shams  of  life,  her  whole  expression  was  too  keen  and 
humorous  to  compare  victoriously  either  with  the  lofty 
exalted  style  of  the  Archduchess  Ranata  Theresia  or  the 
impassive  harmonies  of  fashionable  standards.  But  her 
eyes  and  hair  were  the  brown  that  took  lights  from  the 
sun,  her  features  were  delicate,  high  bred,  full  of  char 
acter  and  energy.  Her  figure  was  light,  round,  active; 
when  compared  with  any  but  Ranata 's  it  was  sufficiently 
tall.  In  her  way  she  was  as  complex  as  her  friend  of  the 
tremendous  and  conflicting  elements  drawn  from  every 
civilization  in  Europe,  but  her  salient  and  unquestioned 
characteristics  were  loyalty  and  sincerity.  She  dressed 
exquisitely,  and  the  thousands  she  spent  yearly  in  Vien 
na  had  long  since  established  her  popularity. 


IV 

Alexandra  pressed  her  hand  on  the  table  in  a  flutter 
of  nerves,  to  which  she  was  little  accustomed.  But  they 
had  vibrated  painfully  more  than  once  during  the  din 
ner,  although,  with  all  her  experience  of  courts,  she  had 
rarely  been  present  at  so  magnificent  a  scene.  The 
immense  Throne  Room,  or  Great  Hall  of  Ceremonies, 
of  perfectly  simulated  yellow  marble,  relieved  only 
by  white  wood  heavily  incrusted  with  yellow  bronze, 
seemed  to  quiver  in  its  flood  of  amber  light.  The  three 
chandeliers  were  huge  inverted  stacks  of  golden  leaves, 
with  no  false  note  of  crystal.  The  few  women  present 
were  superbly  dressed,  and  covered  from  crown  to  waist 
with  the  jewels  of  centuries,  but  they  made  an  indiffer 
ent  showing  beside  the  barbarous  magnificence  of  the 
Hungarian  magnates.  Every  other  man  at  the  table, 
except  the  cardinals,  was  in  uniform:  the  King,  the 
Archdukes,  and  the  Emperor's  suite,  in  the  Prussian; 

I25 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

the  few  members  of  his  household  whom  Franz  Joseph 
had  ventured  to  bring  to  the  jealous  capital  of  his  most 
uncertain  possession,  and  the  Grand  Stewards  of  the 
Archdukes,  wore  an  Austrian  uniform;  and  the  Ambas 
sadors  were  in  fullest  dress.  But  it  was  evident  that 
the  fiery  independent  spirit  of  the  great  nobles  of  Hun 
gary  recognized  no  uniform  except  that  of  a  glorious 
extravagance.  Their  fancy  ran  riot  in  color,  in  textile, 
in  form.  But  whether  in  thick  brocade,  delicate  or 
gorgeous  of  hue,  in  cloth  of  gold  or  silver,  in  white  satin 
fitting  like  a  cuirass  and  studded  with  jewels,  or  in  silk 
so  heavily  embroidered  with  gold  that  it  creaked  like 
an  armor;  whether  the  long  velvet  cloak,  trimmed  and 
lined  with  priceless  fur,  its  embroideries  representing 
years  of  labor,  its  buttons  and  chains  of  big  uncut  jewels, 
was  worn,  or  used  carelessly  as  a  background,  there  was 
nothing  in  Europe,  not  even  in  Russia,  to  compare  with 
them.  The  headpieces  of  fur,  the  plume  fastened  with  a 
jewelled  rosette,  were  under  their  chairs,  their  high  boots 
and  silken  small-clothes  were  likewise  eclipsed  for  the 
hour,  but  there  was  more  than  enough  of  them  to  make 
the  great  golden  room  look  like  a  page  of  old  Hungarian 
history.  So  their  ancestors  had  sat  at  Arpad's  table  a 
thousand  years  ago.  The  hair  of  these  men  might  be 
shorter,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  they  varied  in  another  ex 
ternal  detail.  Their  faces  were  mobile,  excitable,  some 
times  very  clever.  A  few  looked  like  men  of  the  great 
world,  although  in  that  costume  it  was  difficult  to  look 
like  anything  but  the  feudal  lord  ready  on  an  instant's 
notice  to  blow  the  trumpet  in  his  villages  and  lead  his 
bondsmen  to  battle. 

As  their  fiery  glances  wandered  from  the  Archduchess 
Ranata  Theresia  to  the  German  Emperor,  from  the  beau 
tiful  woman  who  reminded  them  of  their  lost  Rudolf  to 
the  dashing  young  monarch  they  so  passionately  ad- 

126 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

mired,  a  man  after  their  own  indomitable  Hungarian 
hearts,  they  seemed  to  create  an  atmosphere  of  uneasi 
ness,  of  premonition.  Alexandra  could  imagine  their 
swift  transition  from  extravagant  courtesy  towards  their 
aged  King  into  the  wildest  excitement  of  which  the 
modern  man  is  capable;  and  endeavored  to  hope  that 
William  would  behave  himself.  The  young  magnate 
on  her  right,  Count  Zrinyi,  was  evidently  a  very  excita 
ble  person.  He  had  from  various  causes  approached 
the  verge  of  explosion  several  times.  Never  having 
met  anything  like  this  cool  American  girl,  he  had  fallen 
madly  in  love  with  her;  the  blood  flew  to  and  from  his 
face,  his  jewelled  armor  creaked,  and  twice  he  dashed 
the  tears  from  his  eyes.  Alexandra  would  have  imagined 
herself  in  one  of  the  Nights  of  Arabia  had  it  not  been 
for  the  intervals  of  rational  conversation,  when,  seeing 
himself  mirrored  in  the  clear  eyes  beside  him,  and  fancy 
ing,  as  many  a  wiser  man  has  done,  that  it  was  a  kin 
dred  soul  he  saw,  he  had  talked  of  the  grievances  of  the 
Hungarians  and  their  determination  to  have  their  owji 
way  in  their  own  country.  At  present  they  were  en 
gaged  in  the  extermination  of  the  hated  German  lan 
guage  and  the  universal  substitution  of  the  Magyar. 
It  mattered  nothing  that  less  than  half  the  population 
of  their  country  spoke  Hungarian,  that  the  spirit  of 
Roumania  still  hovered  over  the  land  beyond  the  Theiss, 
that  there  were  whole  villages  where  the  language  was 
never  heard,  and  that  Croatia  and  Slavonia  hated  them; 
the  intense  national  pride  and  spirit  which  had  endured 
for  a  thousand  years,  weathering  every  conquest,  every 
humiliation,  as  ardent  under  the  two  centuries  of  Turk 
ish  rule  as  during  the  climax  of  their  glory  under  Mat 
thias  Corvinus,  had  gathered  fuller  strength  since  the 
Revolution  of  '48;  and  the  determination  was  growing 
daily  to  give  emphasis  in  every  possible  way  to  the  in- 

127 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

dividuality  of  this  most  individual  of  European  states. 
Let  those  pitch  their  tents  in  Hungary  who  would,  but 
they  must  learn  and  use  the  Hungarian  language  or 
feel  themselves  the  aliens  they  were — Austrian  officers 
not  excepted. 

Alexandra  yielded  to  an  impulse,  not  so  much  of 
coquetry  as  of  curiosity;  she  expressed  approval  of  his 
patriotism  in  the  beautiful  Magyar  tongue.  She  had 
avoided  German  instinctively,  and  they  "had  talked  in 
English — like  most  of  his  class  he  was  accomplished  in 
many  languages.  For  the  moment  she  regretted  her 
experiment.  He  trembled  violently  and  turned  white. 
It  was  then  that  he  shed  his  first  tear. 

''You  are  not  cruel!"  he  murmured.  "You  have  en 
raptured  me!  How  kind — how  wonderful.  It  is  said 
to  be  the  most  difficult  of  tongues.  Did  you  learn  a  few 
words,  perhaps,  before  coming  to  Hungary,  knowing  our 
greatest  weakness — " 

"Dear  me,  no.  I  studied  Hungarian,  as  one  of  many 
languages,  with  the  Archduchess.  She  studied  it  as  a 
matter  of  course." 

"That  is  a  very  practical  explanation,"  he  said  sulkily. 
"If  I  had  had  time  to  think  I  should  have  known. 
Queen  Elizabeth,"  he  looked  as  if  he  would  have  raised 
his  plumed  and  jewelled  kalpag  had  it  not  been  under 
his  chair,  "bewitched  Hungary  upon  her  first  visit  by 
speaking  perfectly  the  Magyar  language.  She  took  a 
great  fancy  to  a  young  Hungarian  girl  and  invited  her  to 
become  a  maid  of  honor,  but  when  she  discovered  that 
she  had  been  educated  in  Paris  and  had  almost  forgotten 
her  native  language  she  sent  her  home  to  learn  it,  and 
would  not  receive  her  into  her  household  again  until  she 
was  proficient.  We  have  never  forgotten  that.  And 
Rudolf!  it  was  his  language — we  refused  to  believe  that 
he  knew  how  to  speak  German." 

128 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

"Do  you  regret  Rudolf?"  asked  Alexandra,  in  the 
tone  she  might  have  used  to  demand  his  opinion  of  the 
soft  music  in  the  gallery.  Again  she  had  touched  pow 
der  with  her  wicked  torch. 

' '  Regret  Rudolf  ?— -Rudolf  ?"  He  took  himself  in  hand 
and  proceeded  more  calmly  in  a  moment.  "  Mademoi 
selle,  I  regret  the  Crown  Prince,  like  many  others,  for  per 
sonal  reasons,  and,  like  the  whole  of  my  country,  like  all 
Europe,  in  fact,  for  grave  political  reasons.  He  was  so 
warm,  so  genial,  so  fascinating — the  best  of  good  fellows, 
the  most  simple  and  unostentatious  of  princes,  and,  what 
all  princes  are  not — we  have  one  at  this  table,  made 
moiselle — a  gentleman  to  the  core.  He  loved  Hungary 
as  much  as  Hungary  loved  him.  Had  he  lived  there 
would  be  no  straining  at  the  bit  now;  we  should  be  con 
tent  to  wait.  Had  he  lived,  there  would  be  in  Europe 
to-day  no  uneasy  anticipation  of  our  poor  old  King's 
death.  And  not  only  could  Rudolf  make  himself  beloved 
by  everybody,  but  there  have  been  few  better  brains 
born  to  thrones — or  in  spheres  where  brains  are  more 
abundant.  He  would  have  sown  his  wild  oats,  poor 
chap! — and  have  made  a  great  ruler.  Then  our  guest 
would  have  had  a  rival  worthy  of  his  mettle.  Now  he 
has  none."  With  one  of  his  abrupt  transitions  he  con 
tinued:  "And  such  tact!  In  all  the  years  that  he  came 
to  us  and  held  his  little  court  here  in  Buda,  or  was  a 
mere  sportsman  in  his  hunting-castle,  he  never  made 
a  mistake.  Do  you  know  that  the  King  actually  has  his 
drinking-water  brought  from  Vienna  ?  And  the  very  food 
we^are  eating— and  the  cooks!  Bah!— I'll  eat  no  more. 
It  is  your  fault,  mademoiselle,  that  I  did  not  think  of 
it  sooner.  I  never  go  to  Vienna.  When  he  is  here — 
our  King — I  honor  him,  for  he  is  old  and  good  and  kind 
— now! — but  you  will  acknowledge,  mademoiselle,  that 
he  insults  us  unnecessarily  when  he  brings  with  him 
9  129 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

water  and  meat,  vegetables,  fruits,  to  this  land  flowing 
with  milk  and  honey." 

"Well,  perhaps  he  does  not  like  milk  and  honey.  I 
detest  both  myself.  And  while  I  am  willing  to  admit 
that  your  language  is  the  most  beautiful  in  the  world — 
a  union  of  velvet  and  steel,  of  music  and  running  water 
and  of  the  sonorousness  of  distant  thunder — yet,  my 
dear  Count,  still  will  I  give  the  palm  to  Vienna  for 
water.  It  always  tastes  and  sparkles  as  if  it  were  gush 
ing  still  from  its  springs  in  the  mountains,  and  I  am  de 
lighted  that  the  Emp— King  brings  it  along." 

The  Hungarian  looked  at  her  speculatively.  He  was 
not  a  fool,  and  recognized  her  difference  from  the  wom 
en  to  whom  he  was  accustomed,  although  he  did  not 
pretend  to  understand  her.  The  mystery,  and  her  curi 
ous  treatment  of  his  love-making,  made  him  more 
thoughtful  than  usual.  He  was  about  to  feel  his  way 
towards  a  new  channel  of  attack  when  his  eyes  encoun 
tered  the  heavy  black-framed  visage  of  the  King's  heir, 
and  his  ardent  brain  leaped  in  a  new  direction. 

"Do  you  know  what  that  man  has  done  to-night?" 
he  murmured  furiously.  "He  has  left  his  wife  at  the 
station  in  a  railway  carriage,  while  he  dines  here  as  the 
guest  of  the  King!  I  only  pretend  to  touch  his  hand! 
Do  you  call  that  a  man — to  make  a  woman  his  wife,  the 
mother  of  his  children,  and  treat  her  like  his  mistress? 
If  he  had  not  the  courage  to  renounce  his  pretensions  to 
the  throne  and  live  like  a  gentleman,  why  did  he  marry 
her?  Would  such  a  thing  be  done  in  your  great  coun 
try?" 

"Oh,  well,  we  do  not  have  morganatic  marriages, 
said  Alexandra  soothingly.     "It  certainly  was  incon 
sistent  of  him  to  marry  her." 

"It  is  very  awkward  for  us.  We  acknowledge  no 
difference  between  husband  and  wife  in  Hungary.  If 

130 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

that  man  ever  does  come  to  the  throne,  his  wife  will 
our  Queen — " 

"Rise!"  said  Alexandra,  "the  King  is  on  his  feet." 

And  now  the  King  had  made  his  pleasant  toast  to  the 
illustrious  guest,  the  room  had  rung  with  enthusiastic 
"  Ely  ens  "  and  the  German  Emperor  was  facing  his  au 
dience  in  a  stillness  so  profound  that  others  besides  Alex 
andra  longed  to  have  him  begin  a  speech  which  all  knew, 
from  the  defiant  almost  impish  light  in  his  eyes,  was  to 
be  something  more  than  the  voluble  rhetoric  commonly 
heard  at  royal  tables.  He  had  been  in  the  highest 
spirits  all  the  evening,  joking  with  the  King,  at  whose 
right  he  sat  in  the  middle  of  the  long  table,  and  with 
every  one  else  in  his  neighborhood,  temporarily  charm 
ing  even  his  avowed  enemy,  the  Archduchess  Ranata 
Theresia,  who  sat  on  his  right.  In  the  light-blue  and 
white  uniform  of  a  general  of  the  Austro  -  Hungarian 
army,  his  breast  covered  with  orders,  he  had  never 
looked  handsomer;  and  in  the  atmosphere  of  approval 
that  he  loved  he  was  ready — everybody  felt  who  knew 
him — to  do  and  dare  anything.  But  the  most  expectant 
were  unprepared  for  his  actual  performance. 

He  began  at  last,  turning  with  deep  respect  to  the 
King,  and  a  slight  excitement  was  perceptible  in  his 
strident  tones. 

"It  is  with  a  feeling  of  the  deepest  gratitude  that  I 
receive  the  hearty  welcome  of  your  Majesty.  Thanks 
to  the  invitation  of  your  Majesty,  I  have  been  able  to 
visit  this  splendid  town,  whose  grand  reception  nearly 
overwhelmed  me."  He  paused  as  if  again  overcome  by 
the  memory,  then  launched  his  first  thunderbolt  at  the 
tempestuous  hearts  of  a  people  who  but  half  a  century 
before  had  almost  succeeded  in  wresting  their  great 
kingdom  from  the  monarch  whose  guests  they  were  to 
night —  a  people  whose  fathers  had  died  cursing  the 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

name  of  Hapsburg,  and  petitioning  Heaven  for  the  suc 
cess  of  the  Hungarian  arms. 

"We  are  following  at  home,"  announced  the  German 
Emperor,  "with  sympathetic  interest  the  story  of  the 
knightly  Hungarians,  whose  patriotism  has  become  pro 
verbial,  and  who  in  a  glorious  past  did  not  hesitate  to 
sacrifice  their  blood — for  the  holy  cross,"  he  added  with 
pious  haste.  "Names  like  Zrinyi  inspire  the  hearts  of 
German  youths  to  the  present  day.  We  witnessed  with 
sympathetic  admiration  the  festival  of  the  thousandth 
birthday,  which  the  Hungarians,  surrounding  their  be 
loved  King,  celebrated  with  such  astounding  pomp. 
The  proud  architectural  works  of  your  great  city  give 
evidence  of  her  artistic  spiiit,  and  the  bursting  of  the 
bonds  of  the  Iron  Gates  has  opened  a  new  way  for  com 
merce,  and  has  ranged  Hungary  as  an  equal  among  the 
great  and  the  most  highly  civilized  nations  of  the  Earth." 

By  this  time  the  Hungarians  were  heaving  like  the 
sea.  They  had  left  their  seats  and  were  pressing  tow 
ards  the  Emperor,  silently,  that  they  might  not  lose  a 
word  of  his  utterance ;  and  it  was  evident  that  only  eti 
quette  restrained  their  emotions.  Never  before,  not  in 
modern  times  at  least,  had  a  monarch  so  flattered  them. 
Not  for  centuries  had  they  been  saluted  as  a  practically 
independent  state,  unhyphenated,  for  once  permitted  to 
stand  alone  under  the  crown  of  St.  Stephen,  the  hated 
double-headed  bird  brushed  lightly  aside.  The  air 
seemed  shaking  with  deep  political  import;  more  than 
one  man  was  trembling  violently  within  his  barbaric 
splendors.  The  Emperor  pulled  himself  up  abruptly, 
and  turned  once  more  to  his  host,  whose  face,  indignant 
and  aghast,  composed  itself  suddenly  to  courteous  at 
tention.  William's  tones  had  been  rich  with  sympathy 
for  a  race  passionately  admired.  They  now  softened 
with  filial  affection.  "But  what  has  made  the  deepest 

132 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

impression  upon  me,  particularly  during  my  reception 
in  Budapest,  is  the  enthusiastic  devotion  of  Hungary 
to  your  Majesty.  And  not  only  here,  but  in  all  Eu 
rope,  above  all  among  my  own  people,  does  the  same  en 
thusiasm  for  your  Majesty  glow — an  enthusiasm  which 
I  venture  myself  to  cherish,  in  looking  up,  after  the 
manner  of  a  son,  to  your  Majesty  as  my  Fatherly 
Friend. 

"Thanks  to  your  Majesty's  wisdom,  our  union  stands 
firm  and  unquenchable,  a  blessing  to  our  people;  for  it 
has  meant  the  peace  of  Europe  for  many  years,  and  it 
will  continue  to  do  so  for  many  more. 

"Enthusiastic  devotion  to  your  Majesty — of  this  I  am 
sure — dwells  as  firmly  now  in  the  hearts  of  the  sons  of 
Arpa"d  as  when  they  crie  1  to  your  Majesty's  great  an 
cestor,  '  Moriamur  pro  rege  nostro  ! ' ' 

He  paused  a  moment  before  crying  the  hurrah  for  the 
King,  which  all  present  expected  as  a  matter  of  course 
would  be  given  in  German.  But  William,  under  that 
apparently  tactless  exterior,  capable  of  the  profoundest 
diplomacy,  had  a  still  surer  bolt  in  store.  Raising  his 
goblet  on  high,  his  eagle  glance  flashing  from  end  to 
end  of  the  pale  company,  his  passionate  tones  thrilling 
the  most  antagonistic  heart  present,  he  cried: 

"Giving  expression  now  to  these  sentiments,  we  will 
put  all  we  are  capable  of  feeling,  thinking,  and  praying 
for  your  Majesty  into  those  words  which  every  Hun 
garian  utters  with  his  latest  breath — Ely  en  a  Kirdly!" 

As  the  words  rang  out  in  the  Magyar  language,  so 
jealously  beloved  and  preserved,  from  the  lips  of  a 
monarch  whom  duty  had  never  commanded  to  cope  with 
its  difficulties,  the  tongue  the  King,  his  host,  ignored, 
there  was  an  instant  of  almost  stupefied  silence.  Then 
some  one  gave  an  Elyen !  as  wild  and  abrupt  as  a  battle- 
cry,  the  spell  broke,  the  hot  blood  of  the  Hungarians 

133 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

leaped  to  their  heads,  they  forgot  etiquette  and  crowd 
ed  about  the  Emperor,  shouting  until  the  marble  walls 
rumbled  the  echo.  Their  wild  glances  never  wandered 
to  the  convulsed  face  of  their  King,  nor  from  the  trium 
phant  eyes  of  the  German.  Several  of  the  younger  men 
and  equally  excited  women  stood  upon  chairs  that  they 
might  see  him  better.  Then  for  the  first  time  in  that  old 
palace  there  rang  out^the  word  most  hated  in  Hungary, 
"  Ely  en  a  csdszar!  Ely  en  a  csdszar!"  (Hurrah  for  the 
Emperor!)  Then  again  that  most  musical  and  thrilling 
of  vocatives,  "Ely  en!  Ely  en!  Ely  en!" 

Alexandra  took  her  Count  firmly  by  the  arm  and 
pushed  him  into  a  chair.  "You  don't  look  very  strong," 
she  said,  "and  you  will  faint  if  you  are  not  careful." 
Her  own  knees  were  trembling  as  she  took  the  chair  be 
side  him,  but  she  proceeded  coolly,  "What  an  infant  you 
are  to  be  taken  in  by  the  cleverest  man  in  Europe — " 

"He  is  the  greatest  man  living,"  stammered  Zrinyi. 
"This  is  a  great  moment  in  the  history  of  Hungary, 
mademoiselle.^  It  should  be  painted  and  hung  beside 
Munkacsy's  Arpdd,  or  the  Sally  of  Zrinyi  from  Szigetvdr. 
He  is  the  man  for  us! — the  man  for  us!" 

"I  don't  doubt  every  mustache  in  Budapest  will  stand 
on  end  to-morrow.  What  a  pity  you  have  none." 

"Mademoiselle!"  he  cried,  outraged  at  her  flippancy; 
but  she  was  moving  away. 

She  had  looked  once  at  Ranata  during  William's  speech. 
The  Archduchess,  as  the  Hungarians  pushed  forward, 
had  withdrawn  from  the  Emperor's  side  and  stood  lean 
ing  against  the  wall,  her  head  bent,  her  arms  rigid.  Her 
face  was  expressionless,  but,  Alexandra  commented,  her 
hair  had  never  looked  so  red. 

William,  as  the  King,  experiencing  satiety,  led  the  way 
to  the  reception-rooms,  turned  his  head  rapidly  in  all 
directions,  taking  a  tinal  survey  of  the  scene  of  his  latest 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

triumph.  His  glance  roved  over  faces  angry,  approving, 
terrified,  adoring;  encountered  the  amused  stare  of  the 
American  with  haughty  indifference,  then  rested  sudden 
ly  on  the  face  of  his  young  hostess.  The  Archduchess 
had  dropped  her  mask.  Her  head  was  thrust  forward, 
deliberately  waiting  for  the  moment  when  William's 
eyes  must  meet  hers.  When  they  did  they  lingered. 
The  Hapsburg's  eyes  blazed  with  a  hatred  so  implaca 
ble,  with  a  defiance  so  reckless  and  contemptuous,  that 
the  Almighty's  best-beloved  experienced  a  shock.  It 
seemed  to  him,  for  the  first  time  in  his  triumphant  career, 
that  he  heard  the  steel  of  another  will  clash  menacingly 
with  his  own.  Sustained  in  his  dizziest  flights  by  his 
honest  belief  in  his  earthly  mission,  insolently  aware  that 
he  had  the  best  brain  in  the  royal  hierarchy,  the  most 
splendid  energy,  a  capacity  for  work  never  surpassed, 
he  was  fully  convinced  that  he  had  but  to  develop  his 
gifts,  use  all  his  vigilance  and  what  patience  he  could 
find  in  him,  to  realize  his  vast  ambitions.  But  for  the 
moment,  in  the  presence  of  another  human  will,  and 
that  the  will  of  a  woman,  he  experienced  a  chill  rising  of 
the  imperial  flesh.  He  forgot  his  maiesty,  flung  his  head 
high  like  an  irritated  stallion,  glared  back  his  defiance, 
and  jerked  his  eyes  away.  In  a  moment  he  was  remind 
ed  of  his  manners. 

"Your  arm,  your  Majesty,"  said  the  cold  voice  of  his 
hostess;  and  in  silence,  but  with  an  imDressive  exhibition 
of  royal  self-control,  they  walked  side  by  side  through 
the  first  circle-room  into  the  blue  drawing-room.  He 
was  mightily  uncomfortable,  however,  for  in  some  subtle 
feminine  way  she  made  him  feel  as  if  she  were  towering 
above  him  by  nearly  a  foot.  It  seemed  to  him  that  she 
grew  an  inch  with  every  step,  that  her  little  crown  of 
black  pearls  was  rising  higher  and  higher;  and  when 
he  finally  shot  an  apprehensive  glance  upward,  almost 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

laughing  aloud  at  his  folly,  he  was  relieved  to  find  that 
her  nose  was  still  on  a  level  with  his  brow.  But  she  was 
making  the  most  of  her  height,  which,  with  the  diadem 
on  her  lofty  head  and  the  immense  train  dragging  be 
hind  her,  would  have  made  a  man  of  her  own  inches  look 
insignificant.  It  is  doubtful  if  William  ever  breathed 
deeper  relief  than  when,  a  few  moments  after  arriving 
in  the  drawing-room,  he  was  informed  that  the  carriages 
were  waiting  to  take  himself  and  his  suite  to  the  train, 
and  that  he  must  make  his  adieux. 

The  guests  had  scattered  through  the  long  line  of 
rooms.  Many  went  out  upon  the  balcony  to  watch  the 
royal  carriages  and  mounted  escort  cross  the  illuminated 
bridge,  and  the  roar  of  cheering  thousands  seemed  storm 
ing  the  hill.  The  royal  party  retired  almost  immediate 
ly,  and  Alexandra  followed  the  Archduchess  to  the  sit 
ting-room  of  her  private  apartments.  Ranata's  ladies 
had  been  dismissed,  and  she  had  closed  the  dressing-room 
door  on  her  tire -women.  She  was  standing  alone  at  the 
window  sobbing  convulsively.  The  room  was  ringing 
with  Vivats  and  Ely  ens,  for  it  was  too  hot  to  close  the 
windows. 

Alexandra  pushed  her  into  a  chair,  removed  the  pins 
and  pearls  from  the  heavy  mane  of  hair,  and  sprayed  her 
head  and  wrists  with  cologne.  In  a  few  moments  the 
Archduchess  had  commanded  her  tears.  She  threw 
back  her  head  and  looked  down  upon  shouting  Pest  with 
a  sullen  glare. 

"What  wouldn't  I  have  given  to  be  able  to  wring  his 
neck!"  she  said  in  a  moment.  "How  dared  he!  At  my 
father's  table!  What  insolent  cruelty  —  he,  who  need 
fear  no  one  living — to  come  here  and  fling  his  dynamite 
into  the  weak  foundations  of  this  poor  old  Empire!  I 
wish  to  God  I  were  on  the  thrones  of  Austria  and  Hun 
gary.  I'd  pit  myself  against  him  without  a  qualm. 

136 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

It  would  be  two  of  our  ancestors  over  again  and  joy  in 
the  fight — I  believe  that  in  one  of  his  exalted  moments 
he  enrolled  Frederick  the  Great  among  his  ancestors." 

"Well,"  began  Alexandra,  but  Ranata  did  not  hear 
her.  She  had  risen  and  was  standing  in  the  middle  of  the 
room,  her  long  hair  flaming  about  her.  To  the  American 
girl,  her  quivering  slender  figure  looked  ready  for  a  coat- 
of-mail,  her  head  for  the  helmet.  "I  can't  help  admiring 
the  brute  for  flinging  his  designs  in  our  faces,"  she  ex 
claimed  furiously.  "Did  my  father  understand?  The 
Hungarians? — The  Emperor  dies.  Franz  Ferdinand — 
Franz  Ferdinand! — succeeds  him.  The  Empire,  bound 
together  by  rotten  threads,  begins  its  disintegration 
with  my  father's  corpse.  Do  you  remember  the  rapac 
ity  of  Europe,  that  greedy  horde  of  vultures,  after  the 
death  of  Charles  VI.? — Frederick's  swoop  upon  Silesia? 
William,  'in  the  manner  of  a  son,'  only  awaits  the  death 
of  his  '  Fatherly  Friend '  to  devour  Austria  to  the  gates 
of  Vienna.  And  Hungary?  Could  you  not  see  his  bait? 
Hungary  quiescent — Hungary  once  more  an  indepen 
dent  kingdom,  or  with  himself  as  its  nominal  and  indul 
gent  ruler! — Oh,  for  another  Pragmatic  Sanction!" 

"  I  have  a  plan — if  you  will  sit  down  quietly  for  a  few 
moments  and  listen  to  me.  It  is  a  practical  plan,  and  I 
know  it  will  appeal  to  you." 

The  Archduchess  resumed  her  seat.  "Well?  Tell  it 
to  me  quickly.  I  am  panting  for  a  practical  idea.  But 
the  blood  is  blazing  in  my  head." 

"William  has  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  Hunga 
rians,  and  no  doubt  they  understood  him  plainly  enough. 
But  impressions  can  be  counteracted.  He  leaves  here 
to-night,  and  your  father  will  be  in  no  hurry  to  invite 
him  again.  Do  you  remain  here  this  winter,  instead 
of  returning  to  Vienna  with  the  Emperor  — announce 
that  you  have  found  no  city  so  fascinating,  that  you 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

cannot  tear  yourself  away;  entertain  constantly  and 
brilliantly;  let  loose  all  your  bottled  personal  charm — 
show  them  that  you  are  the  sister  of  Rudolf;  be  seen  in 
public;  make  a  royal  pilgrimage  through  the  villages. 
The  Hungarians  resent  unceasingly  that  the  Emperor 
spends  but  a  few  weeks  of  the  year  in  Budapest — and 
they  look  upon  Austria  as  a  mere  annex  of  the  great  king 
dom  of  Hungary.  They  will  be  flattered — your  slaves ; 
with  your  personality,  if  you  will  come  down  off  your 
high  horse,  they  will  end  by  adoring  you — especially  if 
you  give  them  a  royal  good  time.  So  much  for  the  pres 
ent.  When  the  time  comes!  When  the  time  comes! 
When  the  Empire  shakes  and  William  threatens,  all  you 
will  have  to  do  will  be  to  have  a  King's  Mount  ready,  fast 
en  the  crown  of  St.  Stephen  securely  on  your  head,  ride 
up  the  mount,  and  wave  your  sword  to  the  four  corners 
of  the  earth.  All  Hungary  would  break  into  deficient 
Latin  and  shout,  'Long  live  our  Lady  and  King!'  The 
dust  of  Maria  Theresia  would  quiver  at  that  old  war-cry 
— and  she  is  no  more  forgotten  here  than  in  Austria. 
You  will  be  a  fool  if  you  throw  away  the  greatest  oppor 
tunity  ever  offered  to  a  woman  cursed  with  royal 
blood." 

"  It  would  almost  be  like  meditating  an  act  of  usurpa 
tion,"  muttered  the  Archduchess;  but  her  head  was 
thrust  forward,  her  eyes  were  glittering.  "But  the  al 
ternative! — who  knows?  It  might  be  for  the  best.  It 
may  be  my  destiny.  These  Hungarians!  There  are  no 
people  in  the  world  so  easy  to  arouse  by  appealing, 
not  to  their  nerves  and  passions,  but  to  their  chivalry 
and  highest  ideals."  She  stood  up  again  in  her  excite 
ment.  "Do  you  remember  when  Maria  Theresia,  des 
perate  and  almost  helpless,  with  Europe  sucking  at  every 
vein  of  the  Empire,  the  Austrian  army  an  arniy  of  corpses 
—do  you  remember  when  she  came  here,  young,  beau- 

138 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

tiful,  pregnant,  eloquent,  and  appealed  to  Hungary  to 
save  her,  how  the  magnates  not  only  went  off  their  heads 
and  cried  that  they  would  die  for  her,  but  inspired  more 
than  their  own  retainers  with  their  enthusiasm? — until 
from  every  mountain,  from  regions  so  remote  that  Will 
iam  had  never  heard  of  them,  there  poured  down  tribes 
so  wild  and  terrible  that  Europe  fled  in  dismay.  If  Aus 
tria  exists  to-day,  she  owes  it  to  Hungary — and  no  Haps- 
burg  since  Maria  Theresia  has  ever  acknowledged  the 
debt.  And  again — when  Napoleon  bribed  and  my  great 
grandfather  appealed,  how  they  spurned  the  one  and 
poured  out  their  blood  for  the  other — who  was  neither 
picturesque  nor  grateful.  Throughout  their  history  the 
Hungarian  character  has  been  astonishingly  consistent, 
their  nationalism  has  been  as  unwavering,  in  spite  of 
conquests  and  immigrations,  as  that  of  your  own  coun 
trymen.  They  are  as  independent  as  republicans  and 
as  loyal  as  the  British.  But  it  makes  them  the  easier 
for  tact  and  diplomacy  to  manage.  If  I  convinced  them 
that  I  really  loved  them,  that  I  was  capable  of  the  right 
sort  of  rule — oh,  go  now.  I  will  think  all  night.  Come 
down  early,  will  you?" 

V 

When  Alexandra  presented  herself  at  the  door  leading 
to  the  apartments  of  the  Archduchess  at  ten  o'clock  on 
the  following  morning,  she  was  informed  by  the  groom 
of  the  chambers  that  her  Imperial  Highness  awaited  her 
in  the  "Hungarian  House."  Her  arms  were  full  of 
newspapers  and  her  eyes  sparkled  with  excitement. 
She  ran  down  the  little  staircase  just  beyond  the  door 
and  out  upon  the  first  terrace,  blinking  in  the  brilliant 
sunshine,  but  pausing  to  look  at  the  cool  gray  Danube, 
the  splendid  bridges,  the  gay  city  opposite;  then  wan- 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

dered  about  aimlessly  for  a  few  moments,  her  enjoyment 
still  keen  in  the  freedom  of  the  Hungarian  atmosphere, 
the  unapproachable  beauty  of  Buda,  ancient  city  of 
kings.  The  hill  which  the  palace  crowns  is  so  abrupt 
that  its  many  terraces  have  the  effect  of  the  hanging 
gardens  of  old;  and  its  pillared  galleries  of  white  stone, 
its  wide  and  narrow  nights  of  steps  leading  down  the 
steep  hill- side,  through  parterres  of  flowers  or  thickets  of 
green  to  the  great  gates  on  the  Danube,  its  upright  un 
shaded  lawns  and  winding  ways  lost  in  romantic  gloom 
seduce  the  imagination  away  from  the  crimes  that  have 
been  committed  within  the  fair  walls  above,  the  prison 
ers  that  have  languished  in  the  dungeons  beneath. 
When  the  most  dazzling  of  suns  floods  the  tremendous 
white  front  of  the  palace,  with  its  carved  and  pillared 
rotunda,  its  straight  and  stately  wings,  the  one  bit  of 
color  in  the  crown  of  St.  Stephen  above;  when  the  statues 
of  kings  seem  quivering  with  life  and  the  water  of  the 
fountain  flies  upward  in  an  eager  bursting  of  its  bonds  to 
leap  outward  on  all  sides  and  rush  back  as  eagerly,  in 
a  confused  and  glittering  mass  of  foam  and  spray,  then 
must  the  most  casual  sojourner  in  the  city  of  Pest, 
smoking  his  cigar  in  the  shades  of  its  corso,  comprehend 
the  proud  spirit  of  Hungary.  The  royal  palace  of  Buda 
is  the  embodiment  of  that  pride,  personal  and  national, 
the  glorified  symbol  of  a  thousand  years  of  steady  and 
upward  persistence,  while  battling  with  every  misfort 
une  that  can  assail  a  devoted  nation. 

"No  wonder  Kossuth  lost  his  head  when  he  was  lord 
here  for  a  few  minutes,"  thought  Alexandra.  "If  he 
hadn't— if  he  had  sent  Gorgei  on  to  Vienna— well,  may 
I  be  in  at  the  next  death!" 

She  descended  a  wide  flight  of  marble  steps  on  the  left 
of  the  palace,  then  another,  and  approached  the  little 
"  Hungarian  House,"  built  into  a  portion  of  the  ancient 

140 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

wall,  almost  hidden  by  trees  as  old.  It  was  a  gay  little 
tea-house  of  primitive  Hungarian  architecture,  its  inner 
walls  decorated  with  panels  of  native  embroidery,  the 
whole  effect  light,  Oriental,  frivolous. 

Two  of  Ranata's  ladies  were  reading  under  a  tree  near 
by.  The  Archduchess  was  alone  in  the  one  room  of  the 
house.  Her  eyes  were  heavy.  It  was  evident  that  she 
had  slept  little.  They  flashed,  however,  and  she  sudden 
ly  sat  erect  as  she  saw  the  newspapers. 

"Ah!"  she  exclaimed  sharply.  "What  do  they  say? 
I  did  not  care  to  send  for  them,  myself." 

Alexandra  threw  herself  into  a  chair  and  rattled  the 
journals  viciously.  "I  have  come  to  read  you  a  few 
select  extracts.  Oh,  he  hit  the  mark — hit  it  in  the  bull's- 
eye!  I  am  told  they  are  in  such  a  state  of  enthusiasm 
and  excitement  over  there  that  if  he  hadn't  left  last 
night  he  wouldn't  have  been  able  to  get  out  of  Hungary 
at  all.  Here's  the  first  gun:  'The  majestic  words  will 
find  an  echo  in  all  parts  of  Hungary,  which  will  ever  re 
main  in  the  debt  of  the  great  Hohenzollern,  who  has  for 
ever  conquered  the  soul  of  every  Hungarian ; .  .  .  the  love 
and  gratitude  of  the  Hungarian  nation  will  follow  the 
guest  of  our  King  wherever  he  goes.'  But  that  is  mere 
rhetoric.  Listen  to  this :  '  In  every  line  there  is  so  much 
heart  and  so  much  sympathy  with  the  Hungarian  nation, 
its  glorious  past  as  well  as  its  promising  future,  that  it 
seems  not  the  language  of  politics  only,  but  of  a  loving 
friend,  on  whose  well-meaning  we  may  ever  rely!  Per 
haps  it  will  give  cause  for  reflection  in  those  parts  of  the 
German  Empire  which  have  been  prone,  without  cause, 
to  cast  blame  upon  Hungary,  now  that  they  see  with 
how  great  a  sympathy  the  German  Emperor  expresses 
himself  in  our  behalf.'  Here  is  another:  'As  a  political 
assurance  it  is  the  grandest  which  ever  came  from  the 
lips  of  the  Emperor  William  himself.  .  .  .  Many  wounds 

141 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

are  healed  by  those  words,  which  put  an  end  to  such 
calumny.'  There  are  two  more.  Of  course  there  are 
columns,  but  I  have  marked  the  significant  extracts. 
'The  toasts  of  yesterday  will  be  written  in  the  annals 
of  the  nation  with  letters  of  gold,  and  sustain  and  rejoice 
the  soul  of  future  generations.  No  Hungarian  will  read 
the  warm  and  inspired  words  of  the  German  Emperor 
without  a  joyful  and  a  burning  heart.  No  strange  mon 
arch  has  ever  spoken  to  our  nation  with  so  much  feel 
ing.'  This  is  the  last:  'Where  did  the  German  Emperor 
find  those  colors  for  his  palette?  Why,  they  are  our 
own  colors!  Where  did  he  find  that  tune?  It  is  the 
pulse  of  our  own  hearts!  God  bless  this  great  mon 
arch,  who  knows  so  well  how  to  appreciate  our 
striving  country  !  We  utter  these  words  of  parting 
to  him  with  a  never-dying  gratitude!'  There  you 
are!" 

"I  tasted  gall  with  every  word,  but  I  am  glad  they 
have  been  printed,  for  they  will  help  me  to  accomplish 
my  object.  I  need  strong  arguments — my  request  to 
remain  here  alone  will  be  a  tremendous  innovation.  I 
shall  send  these  to  my  father  at  once,  that  he  may  have 
read  them  before  our  interview.  They  may  or  may 
not  have  been  shown  to  him.  If  I  personally  request 
it,  he  is  sure  to  read  them,  no  matter  who  is  at  his 
elbow." 

"The  sole  consolation,"  she  continued  after  a  mo 
ment,  "is  that  William  is  not  a  Catholic.  I  doubt  if 
the  Hungarians  would  ever  accept  a  Protestant  king. 
Perhaps  if  Kossuth  had  been  a  Catholic  he  would  have 
been  stronger  in  his  exile." 

"William  may  have  to  turn  Catholic  yet,  or  Socialist, 
to  keep  his  throne  and  get  all  the  other  things  he  wants. 
Surely  religion — the  incidental  husk  of  it — cannot  mean 
much  to  a  brain  like  that." 

142 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

"He  would  never  let  the  Jesuits  rule  him,"  said  the 
Archduchess  bitterly.  "They  have  been  the  curse  of 
the  Hapsburgs,  and  their  restoration  constitutes  Metter- 
nich's  chief  claim  to  infamy.  But  their  power  over 
rulers  in  this  enlightened  age  is  incredible — perhaps, 
however,  royalty  is  not  so  much  enslaved  by  the  Church 
as  by  its  ancestors.  Even  I,  to  whom  the  Catholic 
Church  is  but  one  of  many  inherited  forms,  long  since 
rejected  by  pride  and  reason  —  even  I  am  sometimes 
the  victim  of  that  ancient  sea  of  superstition  that  mur 
murs  in  the  soul.  I  can  see  my  father  wash  the  feet  of 
the  poor  and  feel  nothing  but  amusement.  I  can  see 
him  march  bareheaded  in  the  Corpus  Christi  procession, 
and  only  fear  that  he  will  get  a  sunstroke — his  face 
was  purple  last  June.  But  there  are  times  in  the  cathe 
dral,  on  great  occasions  of  ceremony,  when  the  myste 
rious  colored  dimness,  the  long  sonorousness  of  priests, 
the  glorified  pageant,  the  divine  music,  and  the  intoxi 
cating  incense  seem  to  liberate  all  the  ghosts  in  my  soul 
and  send  them  to  my  head.  Then  I  have  a  confused 
sensation  of  being  in  a  past  century — old  doors  are 
opened,  old  ecstasies,  terrors,  desires,  creep  forth.  I 
long  to  prostrate  myself  and  grovel,  to  scourge  myself 
into  a  spiritual  delirium,  to  feel  the  foot  of  the  Church 
on  my  neck.  Then  creep  out  the  old  lusts  of  cruelty, 
of  tyranny,  of  torture — what  a  mere  ghost  of  power  a 
civilized  monarch  has  to-day!  Can  you  imagine  that 
there  have  been  moments  in  my  life  when  I  regretted 
that? — when,  under  the  spell  of  Holy  Church,  I  have, 
for  a  moment,  been  a  composite  of  the  worst  of  my  an 
cestors?" 

"You  are  always  picturesque,  and  you  always  make 
me  rejoice  that  I  am  an  American  and  not  descended 
in  the  royal  line.  But  I  am  astonished  that  you  ever 
permit  your  reason,  your  personality,  to  be  submerged 

M3 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

in  such  a  fashion !  I  should  think  if  there  was  one  wom 
an  who  could  seal  up  her  ancestors  and  leave  them  to 
moulder  where  they  belong,  it  was  yourself.  You  are 
not  morbid,  except  in  erratic,  incidental,  ancestral 
streaks." 

"I  don't  think  I  am  morbid  in  the  usual  sense,  for  I 
have  too  good  an  appetite  and  take  too  much  exercise. 
But  I  am  bound  to  have  deeps  and  fissures  in  my  soul, 
for  the  centuries  have  cut  them  there ;  and  what  must  be 
in  them  sometimes  affects  my  imagination.  And  my  an 
cestors  have  a  curious  fascination  for  me — the  idea  that 
they  may  or  may  not  have  the  power  to  shape  the  des 
tinies  of  the  living.  There  have  been  moments  when 
I  have  been  disposed  to  prostrate  myself  amid  the  re 
mains  of  their  mortal  part  in  the  crypt  and  demand  their 
intercession.  Did  you  know  that  Maria  Theresia  used 
to  make  her  daughters,  on  the  eve  of  marriage,  go  down 
into  the  crypt  alone  at  night  and  pray  among  the  coffins 
of  their  ancestors?  There  have  been  times — very  rare 
ly — when  that  idea  has  appealed  to  me  with  an  almost 
irresistible  force." 

"For  Heaven's  sake  stay  here  in  Budapest,  where  you 
can  live  in  the  sun.  You  have  grown  mouldy  in  the 
Hofburg  this  last  year,  and  your  ancestors  have  had  it 
all  their  own  way.  I  thought  you  had  got  over  that 
sort  of  nonsense  long  ago.  This  is  the  result  of  William 
and  a  sleepless  night." 

The  Archduchess  laughed.  "Perhaps.  I  am  willing 
to  suppose  that  my  predecessors  have  troubled  me  less 
all  these  years  than  they  might  have  done  without  the 
fatal  antidote  of  your  American  humor.  Nevertheless, 
I  have  no  right  to  be  faithless  to  them,  and  I  would 
not  forget  them  if  I  could.  And  I  find  them  much  more 
satisfactory  to  contemplate  than  most  of  my  living  rel 
atives,  who,  as  a  rule,  have  neither  morals  nor  brains." 

144 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

"I  agree  with  you  there.  When  Death  lays  his  iron 
hand  upon  a  mortal's  power  to  bore,  his  virtues  rise  and 
sit  upon  the  corpse.  That  is  the  secret  of  the  supersti 
tion  which  makes  us  think  kindly  of  the  dead.  Do  you 
mind  if  I  read  a  letter  from  Fess?  I  have  been  too  ex 
cited  even  to  open  it." 

"Pray  do."  Ranata  smiled  with  both  sympathy  and 
interest.  Then  she  sighed.  "I  believe  your  broth 
er  is  the  only  person  I  envy— I  mean  the  only  per 
son  I'd  be  if  some  fairy  would  bid  me  choose.  He 
has  his  destiny  in  his  own  hands.  He  has  done  such 
wonderful  things!  He  is  famous  and  powerful;  his 
future  holds  the  most  astounding  possibilities — and  he 
is  only  thirty -one!  Oh,  your  America!  Where  will 
you  stop  ?  And  what  will  you  do  to  poor  old  Eu 
rope?" 

"Now  you're  talking!  Come  down  out  of  your 
niche,  with  the  worm-eaten  past  behind  it,  and  iden 
tify  yourself  with  us.  Therein  lies  your  only  salva 
tion.  William  and  my  brother  have  some  great  scheme 
on  foot;  I  don't  know  what,  but  I  know  that 
much  from  a  few  words  I  happened  to  overhear  be 
tween  Fess  and  my  father.  William  and  Fessenden! 
They  could  turn  the  world  upside  down  if  they  chose! 

The  Archduchess  was  leaning  forward,  her  eyes  blaz 
ing.  "An  alliance  between  William  and  your  brother?" 
she  exclaimed.  She  composed  herself  with  a  manifest 
effort,  and  added:  "It  is  really  remarkable— I  know 
your  father  and  Mrs.  Abbott  so  well,  and  yet  your 
brother— I  have  never  seen  him— not  even  his  picture. 
You  say  those  cuts  in  the  newspapers  during:  your  war 
with  Spain—" 

"Were  probably  a  composite  of  Roosevelt,  John 
Jacob  Astor,  and  Cervera.  Fess,  like  my  father,  has 

145 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

never  had  his  picture  taken.  He  hasn't  the  patience, 
and  says  he  has  no  desire  to  display  his  weak  side  to  the 
world — that  the  weak  side  of  a  man  is  more  likely  to 
come  out  in  his  photographs  than  not.  It  is  hardly 
remarkable  that  you  have  not  met  him.  First  those 
years  in  South  America,  putting  blood  and  iron  in  place 
of  wind  inside  the  Monroe  Doctrine;  since  then  he  has 
had  too  much  to  do  at  home  to  come  to  Europe,  except 
for  two  months  in  summer,  when  he  brings  a  canoe  and 
a  knapsack.  About  his  only  other  recreation  has  been 
the  Spanish  War.  But  this  letter  has  the  Berlin  post 
mark.  I  thought  he  had  gone  back.  Let  me  see  what 
he  has  to  say." 

She  glanced  through  the  short  letter.  "He  is  not 
going  back  at  present.  He  has  one  of  his  periodical 
attacks  of  disgust  for  business  and  details,  and  will 
tramp  over  here  for  a  month  or  two  longer.'' 

"Ask  him  to  come  here — to  Budapest,"  said  the  Arch 
duchess  sweetly.  "  It  is  high  time  we  met.  And  as  he 
is  the  most  distinguished  of  young  Americans,  I  should 
like  him  to  be  one  of  my  court.  I  intend  to  have  the  il 
lustrious  of  all  sorts  about  me  here,  in  art,  in  letters,  in 
music,  and  irrespective  of  noble  birth.  I  intend  to  show 
Europe  what  a  court  should  be." 

"You  have  thought  it  out!  And  the  Emperor?  Are 
you  sure?  It  is  my  turn  to  have  misgivings.  He  will 
see  many  objections.  There  is  no  one  so  rigid  in  his 
traditions." 

11 1  shall  stay,"  said  Ranata  shortly.  "  He  would  never 
go  so  far  as  to  follow  some  illustrious  examples  and  shut 
me  up.  If  the  worst  comes  to  the  worst,  I'll  threaten 
to  go  to  America  and  live  there." 

' '  Good !  At  last  my  seeds  are  showing  their  little  green 
heads.  Now  I  know  you  will  succeed  in  whatever  you 
put  your  brain  to.  You  may  count  on  me.  I'll  even 

146 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

engage  to  help  you  alienate  Fessenden's  affections  from 
William,  and  he  is  devoted  to  him." 


VI 

The  private  apartments  of  the  King,  at  the  south 
western  extremity  of  the  palace,  correspond  with  the 
suite  on  the  southeastern  corner,  which  had  been  fur 
nished  for  his  wife,  and  was  now  occupied  by  Ranata. 
He  had  sent  his  daughter  word  that  he  would  receive  her 
alone  at  four  o'clock,  and  when  she  was  announced  he 
was  standing  on  the  balcony,  looking  down  into  the 
distant  street  behind  the  palace.  There  were  excited 
groups  of  people  in  the  street,  and  he  guessed  of  what 
they  talked.  From  the  many  old  houses,  fine  and  sim 
ple,  on  the  still  loftier  hill  which  faced  him,  and  from 
neighboring  slopes  above  and  about,  from  the  villas  on 
the  precipitous  heights  of  the  Schwabenberg,  the  flags 
still  floated,  and  it  seemed  to  him  that  the  German  out 
numbered  the  Austrian  in  the  ratio  of  three  to  one.  As 
he  turned  to  greet  his  daughter,  she  saw  that  his  face 
was  more  harassed  than  usual,  but  he  advanced  with  the 
grace  and  courtesy  which,  even  in  his  old  age,  were  un 
surpassed  in  Europe.  The  years  which  had  robbed  his 
heavy  Hapsburg  features  of  what  beauty  youth  may 
have  lent  them  had  spared  his  light  erect  figure,  his  ex 
quisite  hands  and  feet.  His  genial  eyes  kindled  at  sight 
of  Ranata,  but  he  kissed  her  lightly  and  handed  her  to 
a  chair.  Had  she  been  born  twenty  years  earlier  she 
might  have  been  his  idol,  and  as  it  was  he  admired  no 
woman  more  and  was  proud  of  her.  But  not  only  had 
misfortunes,  humiliations,  reverses  of  every  sort,  and 
the  cruellest  personal  afflictions  that  in  number  and 
degree  have  ever  assailed  a  monarch  atrophied  his  heart, 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

but  he  feared  to  find  even  the  eidola  of  happiness  in  this 
gifted  creature,  lest  the  knife  be  driven  into  the  re 
sponsive  breast  and  his  own  earthly  expiation  of  the 
sins  of  all  his  ancestors  be  the  more  complete.  His  an 
cient  habit  of  temperate  affection  for  his  older  and  mar 
ried  daughters  excited  no  misgivings.  But  if  Ranata 
had  never  been  permitted  to  know  him  intimately 
enough  to  love  him,  she  sympathized  with  and  admired 
him.  If  enthusiasm,  hope,  passion,  were  dead  within 
him,  he  was  equally  without  bitterness,  without  resent 
ment,  without  jealousy,  and  in  theory,  at  least,  with 
out  indifference  to  the  least  of  his  subjects.  Even  the 
cruel  insult  of  the  day  before  had  not  stirred  him  to 
anger.  He  had  lost  and  lost  and  lost  from  the  day  he 
had  ascended  the  throne,  and  the  driving  of  Austria 
from  the  Germanic  Confederation,  and  substitution  in 
supremacy  of  Prussia,  must  forever  be  associated  with 
his  name.  In  William's  brief  career  Germany  had  been 
reorganized,  strengthened,  incredibly  promoted  in  in 
dustrial  importance.  William  received  an  occasional 
snub  and  reminder  that  he  was  two-thirds  mortal,  but 
to  associate  the  idea  of  failure  with  him  was  as  un 
thinkable  as  to  imagine  him  in  the  robes  of  a  monk 
praying  for  humility.  Personally  the  Emperor  and  King 
could  afford  to  pass  his  pyrotechnics  by  with  a  smile, 
but  there  was  more  to  consider  than  his  own  sensations, 
and  he  was  meditating  an  early  retreat  that  he  might 
consult  with  his  Austrian  ministers. 

The  room,  with  its  olive  walls  and  its  lowered  awnings, 
was  cool  and  dim,  but  Ranata  deliberately  rose  and 
placed  her  chair  where  the  light  would  fall  fullest  upon 
her.  Then  she  turned  her  powerful  gray  eyes  on  the 
Emperor,  and  he  moved  slightly;  like  the  rest  of  the 
world,  he  usually  saw  his  daughter's  eyes  through  their 
lashes,  and  it  was  now  at  rare  intervals  that  he  was 

148 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

reminded  of  the  problem  of  his  youngest  born.  He 
suddenly  remembered  that  when  he  was,  the  laurels 
fell  from  his  brow,  and  involuntarily  he  braced  him 
self. 

"I  need  not  ask  you,  sir,"  began  Ranata,  "if  you 
recognized  the  calculation  under  William's  impetuosity 
last  night.  There  is  no  doubt  that  he  made  the  deepest 
possible  impression  on  the  Hungarians,  that,  if  present 
conditions  continue,  no  other  subject  will  be  discussed 
for  months  to  come  in  this  dissatisfied  country,  even  to 
its  remotest  villages.  At  first  I  was  merely  humiliated, 
enraged,  terrified.  But  I  have  thought  all  night,  sir, 
and  I  have  reached  the  conclusion  that  I  have  it  in  my 
power  not  only  to  obliterate  the  impression  he  has  made, 
but  to  create  one  deeper  and  more  persistent.  His,  he 
may  not  have  the  opportunity  of  renewing — you  cer 
tainly  are  under  no  obligation  to  ask  him  here  again. 
This  is  my  plan:  let  me  live  here  and  keep  the  Hungari 
ans,  from  magnates  to  peasants,  constantly  reminded  of 
the  great  love  they  bear  you.  If  I  can  make  them  love 
me,  so  much  stronger  will  the  bond  be  between  this  restive 
country  and  Austria."  She  leaned  forward  and  spoke 
as  solemnly  as  if  taking  an  oath  of  allegiance.  "  I  know 
that  if  I  am  given  my  way  I  can  preserve  this  state  to  the 
Empire,  avert  the  calamity  which  all  Europe  expects  to 
follow  your  death.  I  am  willing  to  pledge  every  hour 
of  my  life  to  this  great  mission.  I  believe  that  every 
human  being  is  put  on  earth  to  be  of  use  in  some  form  or 
other.  Assuredly  usefulness — to  the  uttermost  moment 
— is  demanded  of  us.  So  far  I  have  accomplished  no  des 
tiny  whatever,  and  I  do  not  for  a  moment  believe  that 
I  had  so  many  of  the  characteristics  of  my  house  con 
centrated  in  me  for  no  purpose — although  in  endeavor 
ing  to  find  reconciliation  to  my  lot  I  have  sometimes 
argued  myself  into  a  belief  of  the  blind  law  of  cause  and 

149 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

effect.  But  I  do  not  believe  in  it.  I  am  here  for  a  pur 
pose,  and  the  time  has  come  for  the  accomplishment  of 
that  purpose.  /  will  not  marry.  I  am  quite  well  aware 
that  it  is  your  intention  to  arrange  an  alliance  for  me  be 
fore  my  thirtieth  birthday ;  but  there  is  no  mortal  power, 
sir,  that  can  force  me  to  the  altar.  I  make  no  threats. 
I  have  no  intention  of  resorting  to  any  desperate  meas 
ures.  I  am  strong  enough  in  myself.  I  simply  will  not 
marry.  But  I  now  represent  a  sinful  waste  of  high  use 
fulness.  Moreover,  the  emptiness  and  monotony  of  my 
life  have  become  quite  unbearable.  I  ask  that  I  may  be 
permitted  to  exert,  for  the  good  of  my  country,  the  best 
of  those  qualities  which  have  come  to  me  from  yourself 
and  my  ancestors." 

The  Emperor  stared  at  her  for  a  moment  without 
speaking.  He  was  as  astonished  as  it  was  in  his  power 
to  be  at  anything.  Then  he  gave  her  the  answer  she 
expected. 

"  It  is  a  subject  for  deep  thought  on  my  part,  my  dear 
child.  A  week  from  to-day  I  will  give  you  my  decision. 
Meanwhile  there  is  no  reason  why  you  should  not  re 
main  here  if  you  desire  it."  Then,  as  Ranata  merely 
continued  to  transfix  him  with  her  determined  eyes,  he 
continued  hastily:  "It  is  a  great  and  generous  idea,  and 
I  am  much  gratified  to  learn  that  you  take  so  deep  an 
interest  in  your  house.  I  had  thought  you  absorbed  in 
books  and  horses.  But  are  you  sure  you  would  not  pine 
in  this  strange  country?  Remember,  you  would  be 
obliged  to  send  all  your  Austrian  ladies  home,  and  sur 
round  yourself  with  Hungarians.  I,  as  you  know,  hard 
ly  dare  to  bring  an  aide  among  these  people,  so  fierce  in 
their  national  pride.  The  women  are  as  proud  as  the 
men,  and  very  independent,  quite  unused  now  to  leader 
ship  of  any  sort.  Every  Hungarian  woman  in  the 
higher  aristocratic  circles  is  a  sort  of  queen,  is  a  social 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

law  unto  herself.     You  are  accustomed  to  the  courtier, 
to  the  flexible — " 

"  I  am  sick  of  it!  And  as  tact  is  one  of  the  preroga 
tives  of  royalty,  I  hope  you  will  give  me  credit  for  my 
share.  As  for  being  lonesome,  nothing  on  this  earth 
can  ever  approach  the  suicidal  ennui  I  have  experienced 
in  the  Hofburg.  As  for  Schonbrunn,  I  loathe  the 
sight  of  it.  This  change  is  necessary,  sir.  Moreover, 
Alexandra  will  be  with  me.  And  if  there  were 
drawbacks  —  do  you  think  your  daughter  is  the  per 
son  to  consider  trifles  when  a  great  object  is  to  be 
gained?" 

The  Emperor's  eyes  happened  to  rest  on  her  hair.  It 
flamed  against  his  green  walls.  "Red-haired  women 
are  dangerous,"  he  thought.  "It  is  well  to  keep  them 
occupied.  Why  on  earth  doesn't  she  marry?"  Aloud 
he  repeated,  "A  week  from  to-day,  Ranata,  you  shall 
have  my  answer." 

Ranata,  having  spent  her  first  round,  was  content 
to  retire.  She  knew  that  a  definite  answer  was  not 
to  be  thought  of  until  the  Emperor  had  asked  the 
advice  of  his  ministers,  "But  the  idea  made  an  im 
pression  on  him,  no  doubt  of  that,"  she  informed 
Alexandra,  whom  she  met  in  the  garden.  "And  so 
did  I.  If  I  didn't  tell  him  I  would  stay  here  whether 
or  no,  I  don't  think  he  has  any  doubt  of  my  inten 
tion.  If  he  won't  give  his  consent,  I'll  spend  all  my 
money  and  all  yours;  and  his  refusal  of  the  necessary 
allowance  is  the  worst  he  would  do,  for  he  wants  no 
more  scandals.  To  remove  me  by  force  —  and  I'd 
leave  Hungary  in  no  other  fashion — would  be  to  make 
the  world  believe  I  was  mad,  and  he  has  had  enough 
of  that.  Besides,  poor  man,  I  made  him  think  I  should 
go  mad  if  I  didn't  have  my  head  for  a  while." 

'We  are  a  wicked  unprincipled  sex  when  we  want 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

our  own  way,"  commented  Miss  Abbott.  "  But  to 
get  it  —  that  is  the  main  thing;  especially  when  there 
is  a  good  and  great  end  in  view." 


VII 

On  the  following  Thursday  Ranata  was  not  surprised 
to  receive  a  note  from  her  father  asking  her  to  grant  an 
audience  to  his  minister  Count  von  Konigsegg,  who 
went  to  Budapest  for  the  purpose. 

"Now  for  it!"  exclaimed  Alexandra.  "Of  course  he's 
brought  a  corkscrew.  Are  your  brain-cells  hermetically 
sealed?" 

"His  corkscrew  will  do  him  no  good.  Nevertheless, 
I  feel  a  certain  apprehension  —  feminine,  I  suppose.  He 
is  the  one  person  who  has  done  me  the  honor  to  believe 
that  I  might  play  with  politics  in  a  manner  to  discon 
cert  his  clever  manipulation  of  my  father,  and  I  have 
shown  my  dislike  of  him  by  ignoring  his  existence,  as 
far  as  possible.  He  detests  me;  nevertheless,  if  I  am 
able  to  convince  him  that  I  have  no  purpose  behind  the 
one  I  have  advanced,  I  believe  he  will  make  no  opposi 
tion  to  my  plan:  he  has  no  desire  to  see  William  in  the 
Hofburg  and  himself  in  obscurity.  He  will  not  have 
the  least  objection  to  using  me — he  is  the  sort  to  feel 
quite  sure  that  a  woman  can  be  disposed  of  the  moment 
a  man  sees  fit.  But  if  he  thought  that  I  had  any  ulterior 
design — " 

"Try  American  diplomacy  on  him  if  you  get  in  too 
deep — speak  out  bluntly  and  agitate  his  guile.  Let  him 
squirm  himself  into  a  corner,  and  then  tell  him  to  speak 
out  or  get  out." 

"I  sometimes  feel  half  an  American,"  said  the  Arch 
duchess  Ranata  Theresia. 

152 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

Down  the  long  front  of  the  southeast  wing  of  the 
palace  is  a  suite  of  some  ten  or  twelve  rooms,  large  and 
small,  beginning  with  the  private  dining-room  and  fin 
ishing  with  the  red  reception-room.  The  yellow  Throne 
Room,  or  Great  Hall  of  Ceremonies,  runs  parallel,  oc 
cupying  the  width  of  the  circle  room  and  audience  cham 
ber,  which  flank  it  at  one  end,  and  of  the  circle  room  and 
blue  drawing-room  of  its  southern  termination.  From 
this  last  circle  room  opens  another,  which  in  turn  leads 
to  the  private  apartments  occupied  by  the  Queen  of 
Hungary  when  there  is  one.  The  windows  of  these 
apartments,  closed  during  the  clouded  last  years  of 
Elizabeth's  life  and  since  her  death,  were  now  open  to 
the  sun ;  the  hangings  were  losing  their  musty  odor,  and 
the  numerous  belongings  of  Ranata  had  already  obliter 
ated  the  little  individualities  of  the  Empress.  Ranata, 
whose  strong  soul  had  little  in  common  with  the  unhap 
py  woman  who  had  permitted  life  to  crush  her,  had  ten 
der  pity  for  her  mother's  memory,  but  no  great  amount 
of  sentiment.  Not  only  were  the  rooms  dingy  and  op 
pressive,  but  her  own  individuality  was  too  strong  to 
exist  comfortably  in  surroundings  stamped  throughout 
many  years  by  that  of  another;  she  had  made  up  her 
mind  that  the  day  after  her  father's  decision,  what 
ever  it  might  be,  she  should  refurnish  the  four  rooms  of 
her  suite;  and  when  the  Emperor's  letter  arrived  they 
were  full  of  stuffs,  sent  up  from  Pest  for  the  approval  of 
her  Imperial  Highness.  Some  pieces  of  curious  brocade 
were  pinned  into  the  panels,  and  the  dusty  old  rugs  had 
vanished.  The  girls,  ordered  to  remain  in  strict  seclu 
sion  during  this  week  of  deliberation,  had  entertained 
themselves  in  their  own  fashion. 

"I  cannot  receive  him  here,"  said  the  Archduchess, 
when  she  received  the  humble  petition  of  the  great  min 
ister  for  an  audience.  "Besides,  I  don't  want  to.  If 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

I  could  help  it  no  one  should  set  foot  in  my  personal 
surroundings  —  atmosphere  —  -who  was  even  unconge 
nial  to  me." 

"It  is  a  family  failing,"  said  Alexandra  dryly.  "But 
I  always  admired  Ludvig  for  putting  his  head  out  of  the 
window  when  he  had  to  have  his  tooth  pulled  rather 
than  have  the  royal  atmosphere  polluted  by  a  dentist. 
It  may  have  been  uncomfortable  for  both,  but  it  was 
magnificently  consistent . ' ' 

' '  I  am  not  Ludvig,  and  I  have  no  intention  of  making 
a  fool  of  myself,"  replied  the  Archduchess,  also  with 
some  dryness.  "I'll  receive  him  in  the  tea-room;  I  like 
the  blue  walls.  Shall  I  wear  black  or  white?  I  look 
more  imposing  in  black." 

"Oh,  look  your  guileless  best — white,  by  all  means." 

Therefore,  Ranata  caused  herself  to  be  arrayed  in  a 
bewildering  gown  of  a  pellicular  Eastern  stuff,  much 
embroidered,  and  billowing  about  her  feet  in  the  fashion 
of  the  moment.  She  wore  her  heavy  hair  in  a  gold  net, 
and  a  string  of  pearls  about  her  throat,  exposed  to  the 
base.  She  looked  girlish,  if  not  ingenuous,  and  very  lovely. 

The  Archduchess  Maria  Leopoldina,  Obersthofmeis- 
terin,  or  Grand  Stewardess,  of  Ranata's  Household,  to 
gether  with  one  of  the  ladies-in-waiting,  the  Lectrice, 
and  Alexandra,  disposed  themselves  just  beyond  the 
door  of  the  tea-room  as  the  carriage  which  had  been 
sent  for  the  minister  appeared  on  the  bridge  below  the 
palace. 

"It  is  fearfully  hot,  and  he's  probably  cross,"  said 
Alexandra  from  the  balcony.  "Better  begin  with  iced 
coffee  and  predispose  him  to  amiability  of  a  sort." 

And  thus  it  came  about  that  the  subtle  and  wary 
minister  tarried  for  a  few  moments  beneath  the  youthful 
presentment  of  his  sovereign  in  the  brave  uniform  of  the 
Hungarian  Hussars,  while  four  women  smiled  upon  him 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

and  flattered  him  with  many  little  attentions.     Then 
he  went  in  to  his  fate.  * 

Ranata  had  carefully  arranged  her  features  before  the 
mirror,  and  had  succeeded  in  banishing  the  expression 
of  haughty  dislike  evoked  by  the  mere  mention  of  her 
enemy.  When  he  entered  her  presence  her  eyes  were 
half  closed  as  usual,  but  their  visible  surface  was  soft. 
She  dared  not  receive  him  with  cordiality,  but  a-  frank 
admission  of  an  enemy's  stewardship  of  the  plums  she 
desired  involved  a  certain  amount  of  graciousness. 

"This  is  very  kind,  your  Excellency,"  she  said  gently, 
giving  him  her  hand  to  kiss.  "  Had  you  permitted  any 
one  else  to  bring  me  the  Emperor's  decision,  I  should 
still  have  been  tortured  by  many  doubts;  but  now  I 
shall  know  my  fate  at  once. "  She  leaned  forward  slight 
ly  and  deepened  her  emphasis,  her  lashes  lifting  a  little. 
"Of  course  I  shall  abide  by  what  you  and  my  father 
think  best;  but  remember  it  is  little  less  than  life  or 
death  to  me.  No  one  knows  better  than  you  the  dreary 
monotony  of  the  lives  of  royal  women.  You  know  how 
my  mother  stood  it!  You  who  know  men,  and  must 
know  women  so  well,  must  have  suspected  that  had  it 
not  been  for  the  constant  scandals  which  seem  to  be  the 
peculiar  curse  of  my  house,  I  might  have  taken  my  life 
in  my  own  hands  before  this ;  but  the  very  years  of  sup 
pression  I  have  endured,  ordered  by  a  sense  of  duty  to 
the  dynasty,  has  strengthened  and  deepened  that  feel 
ing  until  it  rules  my  life.  Now,  for  the  first  time,  I  have 
had  an  inspiration,  which,  if  permitted  me  to  act  upon, 
will  fill  my  days  with  no  dishonor  to  my  house.  Of  the 
good  I  may  accomplish  by  remaining  here  I  will  not  in 
sult  your  understanding  by  dwelling  upon.  But,  although 
we  never  seem  to  have  been  friends,  I  am  so  well  aware 
that  I  am  now  in  your  power  that  I  have  given  you  this 
glimpse  of  my  inner  self — so  be  merciful,"  she  added,  as 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

if  with  an  attempt  at  playfulness,  while  a  smile  rippled 
through  her  eyelashes. 

For  a  moment  the  minister  did  not  reply.  He  was 
not  a  man  easy  to  nonplus,  but  he  had  come  to  test  his 
strength  with  the  haughtiest  woman  in  the  Empire,  and 
he  found  himself  staring  at  the  loveliness  of  a  softly 
impassioned  girl.  He  had  come  to  flatter,  and  his  very 
spine  thrilled  at  subtle  compliments  delivered  in  a  voice 
whose  cold  music  had  become  as  sweet  as  a  harp  some 
one  was  playing  in  a  distant  chamber.  He  had  come 
to  sound  with  the  elastic  skill  of  time-honored  methods, 
and  his  scornful  Archduchess  had  thrown  wide  a  window 
of  her  soul  and  left  him  blinking.  He  had  entered  with 
the  smile  and  the  supple  backbone  of  the  courtier,  but 
quite  aware  that  he  might  retire  with  his  tail  between 
his  legs,  and  a  fully  matured  enmity  in  his  fertile  brain. 
He  was  by  no  means  sure  of  her  even  now,  and  he  stud 
ied  her  face — she  had  lowered  her  eyes  that  he  might; 
but  there  is  no  influence  so  potent,  no  wine  so  heady, 
as  the  flattery  of  royalty  to  courtier.  And  the — per 
haps  unconscious? — flattery  of  this  woman  of  all  women, 
of  whose  coldness  those  nearest  to  her  complained, 
seemed  to  rise  like  a  rosy  mist  to  his  brain.  He  swept 
it  back,  however;  there  was  too  much  at  stake.  Al 
though  he  did  not  hate  her  as  much  as  she  imagined,  for 
he  was  philosophical  where  women  were  concerned,  he 
had  recognized  in  her  a  powerful  individuality,  a  violent 
will,  which,  if  given  its  head,  might  deprive  himself  of 
the  sweets  of  existence. 

"I  am  deeply  flattered  and  grateful,  your  Imperial 
Highness,"  he  said  finally.  "Truly,  like  his  Majesty,  I 
had  believed  you  to  be  absorbed  in  the  purely  intellect 
ual  life—" 

"Oh,  I  was!  I  was!"  exclaimed  the  Archduchess, 
with  sad  ardor.  "But  pardon  me." 

156 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 


"His  Majesty  is  deeply  moved  by  an  idea  as  great  in 
conception  as  it  is  indicative  of  an  ardent  loyalty  to  the 
dynasty.  He  was  overwhelmed  when  you  advanced  it, 
and  could  give  you  no  answer  at  the  time.  But  he  has 
thought  of  little  else  since,  and  has  deigned  to  consult 
his  ministers  on  the  subject.  As  it  was  manifestly  im 
possible  for  his  Majesty  to  return  to  Hungary  within  so 
short  a  space  of  time,  he  did  me  the  honor  to  appoint 
me  his  messenger.  Even  my  visit  will  probably  attract 
more  attention  than  is  desirable,  but  fortunately  Count 
Zichy  had  invited  me  for  the  shooting,  and  I  have  taken 
pains  to  speak  freely  of  the  ostensible  object  of  my  visit 
to  Hungary.  Of  course,  it  is  my  duty  to  kiss  your  hand 
in  passing."  He  paused  and  looked  at  her  with  a  frank 
ness  which  rivalled  her  own.  "Your  Imperial  High 
ness,"  he  said  impressively,  "personally,  I  am  deeply  in 
favor  of  your  remaining  here.  I  believe  you  can  ac 
complish  all  you  so  nobly  and  intelligently  have  con 
ceived  ;  and  the  time  will  come  when  we  shall  have  need 
of  the  strength  and  loyalty  of  Hungary!  More  than 
three  hundred  thousand  of  the  army  are  drawn  from 
this  state,  and  there  are  no  better  fighters  in  Europe. 
It  is  quite  true  that  the  seat  of  government  should  be  in 
this  division  of  the  Empire,  which  is  little  less  in  area 
than  all  the  other  divisions  put  together.  The  Hun 
garians  are  a  more  progressive,  enterprising,  more  mod 
ern  race  than  the  Austrian  in  certain  respects;  on  the 
other  hand,  they  still  have  much  savagery  in  their  blood; 
they  have  been  so  shut  out  from  personal  competition 
with  the  higher  civilizations  of  Europe  that  they  have 
too  rich  a  soil  for  the  seeds  of  degeneration.  Their 
very  lack  of  morality  has  always  been  robust,  and  to-day 
the  Hungarians  believe  the  city  of  Budapest  to  be  as 
superior  to  Vienna  in  morals  as  it  is  in  industrial  activity. 
While  Austria  is  retrogressing,  disintegrating,  Hungary 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

is  progressing,  has  all  her  old  virility,  ambition,  uncon 
querable  patriotism.  Moreover,  when  Ferdinand  was 
elected  King  of  Hungary,  he  promised  to  live  here,  and 
the  Hungarians  have  never  forgotten  that  promise,  never 
ceased  to  resent  the  neglect  of  their  capital.  His  Maj 
esty's  brief  compulsory  annual  sojourn  that  he  may 
keep  the  letter  of  the  Constitution  which  commands  that 
the  King  shall  spend  a  portion  of  every  year  in  Hun 
gary,  merely  exasperates  them — trade  as  well  as  society. 
Therefore  your  suggestion  to  remain  here,  promptly 
upon  the  extravagant  hopes  raised  in  their  imaginations 
by  the  juggling  of  the  German  Emperor,  and  to  use  your 
great  gifts  constantly  to  remind  them  of  their  loyalty  to 
the  dynasty,  has  struck  me  as  one  of  the  shrewdest  in 
stances  of  statecraft  which  has  ever  come  within  my 
experience.  Perhaps" — as  the  Archduchess  blushed 
and  gave  a  delighted  little  exclamation— -'perhaps  I 
should  say  that  was  the  manner  in  which  his  Majesty's 
communication  impressed  me.  It  was  such  an  idea  as 
might  have  come  to  Maria  Theresia,  wise  in  statecraft 
from  her  youth — but — it  is  true — you  have  never  con 
descended  to  politics — apparently  had  not  given  them  a 
thought — " 

"I  have  certain  inherited  instincts.  And  is  not  the 
capacity  to  rise  to  an  emergency  also  a  part  of  my  in 
heritance  ?  It  is  true  that  I  have  taken  little  interest  in 
politics.  My  books,  my  music,  my  out-door  life,  my 
brilliant  American  friend  sufficed  me.  Being  uninvited, 
I  could  not  meddle  in  affairs  of  state  without  bringing 
one  more  calamity  upon  this  unfortunate  house;  and 
this  dynasty,  I  do  assure  you  solemnly,  has  all  the  loy 
alty  and  the  fealty  of  my  soul.  With  this  sudden  idea  of 
mine  politics  have  nothing  whatever  to  do.  I  know 
the  current  history  of  Europe  and  I  know  William. 
God  forbid  that  I  should  be  expected  to  talk  politics 

158 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

with  these  Hungarians.  It  would  be  to  turn  the  palace 
into  bedlam,  and  I  am  accustomed  to  the  repose  o! 
stellar  voids.  My  only  idea  is  to  make  them  love  me, 
to  win  to  myself  what  they  gave  to  Rudolf,  to  increase 
— I  am  more  frank  with  you  than  with  my  father,  and 
choose  the  word  advisedly — the  popularity  of  the  dynas 
ty.  I  shall  entertain  magnificently  and  constantly,  give 
them  such  a  winter  as  they  have  always  claimed  to  be 
their  right  and  never  have  had.  I  shall  travel  and  make 
the  peasantry  merry.  I  shall  give  up  my  studies  and 
throw  myself  into  this  programme  heart  and  soul.  But 
it  is  a  purely  feminine  programme.  If  there  is  any 
thing  else  I  can  accomplish,  I  know  that  your  Excel 
lency  will  instruct  me." 

And  here  she  proved  the  possession  of  really  great 
talents.  Pleading  a  necessary  word  with  her  Obersthof- 
meisterin,  she  left  him  alone  for  a  few  moments. 

He  drew  a  sharp  but  silent  breath.  He  had  never 
seen  a  woman  look  more  like  an  angel,  and  he  knew  no 
woman  in  whom  he  was  so  convinced  the  devil  made  ex 
tended  sojourns.  He  understood  for  the  first  time  why 
she  had  disciplined  her  spirit  to  rise  triumphant  above 
that  breadth  of  jaw,  the  grand  sweeping  lines  of  her 
body,  above  her  diabolical  hair;  for  he  was  too  astute  to 
question  her  integrity  on  this  point.  In  a  flash  he  under 
stood  why  she  would  not  marry.  But  ambition? — and 
a  permanent  and  ever- widening  outlet  for  that  tumultu 
ous  spirit,  that  repressed  and  violent  nature?  Was  she 
sincere  for  the  moment  ?  Had  he  been  sure  of  even  that 
he  would  not  have  hesitated  to  give  his  cordial  endorse 
ment  to  her  plan.  But  he  had  persuaded  the  Emperor 
that  unless  they  could  be  positive  she  meditated  no  act  of 
usurpation  upon  the  succession  of  her  unpopular  cousin, 
she  must  not  be  permitted  a  liberty  with  which  she 
might  even  before  that  event  plunge  all  Europe  into  war. 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

The  Emperor,  who  asked  no  more  of  life  but  peace,  had 
told  him  to  go  to  Budapest,  investigate  the  mind  of  his 
problematical  daughter,  and  then  act  in  accordance  with 
what  his  Majesty  believed  to  be  an  unfailing  judgment. 
What  a  tool  she  might  be,  his  Excellency  had  thought. 
She  looked  like  anything  but  a  tool.  It  suddenly  rushed 
upon  his  brain  that  he  had  never  seen  a  woman  who 
looked  so  surely  born  to  sit  upon  a  throne.  Why  not  ? 
Why  not  ?  And  if  he  were  her  good  friend  now,  if  he, 
whom  she  knew  to  be  the  arbiter  of  her  destiny,  if  he 
were  the  one  to  place  the  sceptre  within  her  reach — who 
so  fitted  to  serve  her  hereafter  ?  to  rise  higher  and  higher 
in  power? — for  this  woman  would  take  no  puppet  con 
sort.  Might  not  Europe  welcome  such  a  solution  of  an 
agitating  problem?  Not  William,  perhaps,  nor  Russia; 
but  by  that  time  William  and  Russia  might  be  too  occu 
pied  with  each  other  to  scramble  for  plums  in  the  Aus 
trian  pie.  And  a  young  and  beautiful  empress,  with  an 
intelligence  capable  of  assimilating  all  the  statecraft  her 
ministers  chose  to  impart,  always  of  imposing  dignity, 
irreproachable,  her  heart  and  soul  given  to  her  state  and 
people,  her  beauty  the  constant  inspiration  of  the  artist, 
would  she  not  be  worshipped  by  her  subjects,  and  ap 
peal  to  the  interest  and  chivalry  of  Europe  ?  If  she  had 
the  tact  to  appear  nobly  indifferent  to  any  such  result 
during  the  lifetime  of  her  father;  if  the  Hungarians,  im 
mediately  upon  the  death  of  their  king,  arose  as  one 
man  and  proclaimed  her  queen,  she  would  tower  above 
reproach  or  criticism,  the  most  picturesque  personality 
in  the  world,  far  more  certain  of  holding  the  Dual  Mon 
archy  together  than  Maria  Theresia  with  the  aid  of  the 
Pragmatic  Sanction;  for  to-day  the  majority  of  nations 
wanted  peace  and  the  preservation  of  the  Austrian  Em 
pire.  Franz  Ferdinand  might  attempt  a  struggle  for 
his  rights,  but  it  was  more  likely  that  the  army  of  Aus- 

160 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

tria  would  march  to  this  woman  than  against  her.  It 
well  might  be  that  she  alone  could  rouse  England  as  well 
as  Europe  to  defeat  the  designs  of  William.  With  Franz 
Ferdinand  on  the  throne,  war,  internal  and  external, 
Konigsegg  believed  to  be  as  inevitable  as  the  messenger 
of  death  in  the  palace  of  kings. 

He  had  experienced  a  shock  from  crown  to  heel.  The 
Archduchess  re-entered  the  room  and  graciously  asked 
him  again  to  take  the  chair  opposite  hers.  He  com 
manded  his  eyes,  but  permitted  his  voice  to  tremble  as 
he  made  his  first  cautious  move. 

"Your  Imperial  Highness — it  is  my  bitter  regret  that 
I  have  never  been  permitted  to  know  you  before — would 
to  God  that  you  were  a  man — what  a  solution  of  all  our 
difficulties!" 

"But  I  am  not  a  man,"  replied  the  Archduchess  in 
differently. 

"It  has  flashed  upon  me — humilitating  thought  to 
my  sex!  —  that  the  greatest  of  the  Hapsburgs  was  a 
woman." 

Ranata  knew  as  well  as  he  did  that  the  greatest  of  the 
Hapsburgs  was  Rudolf  the  First,  but  this  was  not  the 
moment  to  establish  the  claims  of  the  dead,  and  she 
demanded,  "Has  it  taken  you  all  these  years  to  make 
that  discovery,  or  have  you  been  too  busy  making  his 
tory?"  Her  first  words  were  delivered  in  the  tones  of 
one  moved  to  cold  analysis;  her  last  were  accompanied 
by  an  enchanting  smile.  She  had  drawn  her  eye 
lashes  together,  lest  a  flash  escape ;  she  was  quite  aware 
of  what  was  passing  in  his  agitated  brain,  and  her  own 
heart  beat  high. 

The  minister  drew  another  long  breath.     He  dared 

not  express  himself  more  plainly.     He  was  absolutely 

in  the  dark  as  to  whether  she  understood  him  or  not. 

A  false  move  and  he  might  be  the  laughing-stock  of  the 

ii  161 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

Empire.  Failure  to  comprehend  this  imperial  sphinx 
and  his  future  might  be  passed  in  heaven  or  upon  his 
estates  for  all  the  world  would  know  or  care.  Mutter 
ing  an  obsequious  request,  he  rose  abruptly  and  walked 
down  the  long  suite  of  rooms.  As  his  back  turned  Ra- 
nata's  statuesque  face  twitched  with  an  almost  ribald 
mirth  and  her  eyebrows  peaked  in  a  manner  which 
made  her  look  truly  diabolical;  but  when  the  minister 
returned  she  looked  pleading  and  girlish,  a  trifle  ner 
vous. 

He  stood  in  front  of  her.  "Your  Imperial  Highness," 
he  said,  solemnly,  "I  came  here  in  much  doubt,  for  you 
have  never  permitted  me  the  honor  of  knowing  you. 
But  this  brief  interview — the  most  enlightening  of  my 
life  —  has  convinced  me  of  the  wisdom  of  your  plan, 
and  of  your  ability  to  carry  it  out  in  every  detail.  I 
believe  that  you  alone  can  hold  Hungary  to  the  throne 
when  the  hour  comes  which  we  dread  so  deeply,  for 
there  is  no  question  that  you  can  reduce  this  gallant 
passionate  race  to  a  state  of  willing  slavery.  Your  brain 
will  become  more  and  more  fertile  with  expedients;  but 
I  should  be  deeply  honored  if  you  would  maintain  a 
regular  correspondence  with  me,  for  this  is  an  experi 
ment  with  unimaginable  consequences,  and  I  shall  give 
it  my  unflagging  attention.  There  is  much  I  may  be 
able  to  suggest  to  you  if  you  will  deign  to  permit  me." 

Ranata  had  too  much  tact  to  rise  impulsively,  for  she 
towered  above  the  minister  by  not  a  few  inches,  but  she 
held  out  her  hand  and  shook  his  warmly,  and  her  face 
was  radiant.  " I  am  so  glad!  I  am  so  glad!"  she  cried 
softly.  "And  you  do  not  hate  me!  I  have  been  so  des 
perately  bored  and  hopeless  that  it  has  given  me  a  cer 
tain  pleasure  to  make  enemies— if  only  for  the  sake  of 
sensation;  and  as  you  were  the  most  powerful  man  in 
the  Empire,  it  amused  me  to  defy  you.  In  your  mag- 

162 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

nanimity  you  have  forgiven  me!     If  you  knew  how 
grateful  I  am,  how  I  thank  you!" 

His  Excellency  trembled,  but  he  kept  his  head;  how, 
he  never  knew.  "Your  Imperial  Highness,"  he  said, 
"I,  too,  am  a  patriot.  I  am  acting  in  this  instance,  as 
in  all  others,  in  the  service  of  the  Empire.  If,  in  addi 
tion,  I  am  to  be  permitted  to  act  in  the  service  of  a 
woman — of  such  a  woman — madam,  will  you  permit  me 
to  retire?" 

VIII 

"We  parted  with  mutual  distrust,  a  mutual  increase 
of  respect,  even  of  tolerance,  and  a  common  determina 
tion  to  make  use  of  each  other,"  said  the  Archduchess 
to  Alexandra,  as  she  finished  the  account  of  her  inter 
view  with  the  minister.  They  were  alone  in  her  salon. 
"I  reserved  my  Americanism  for  a  future  occasion,  and 
played  the  old  European  game  of  the  cat  and  the  mouse. 
He  is  not  in  the  least  sure  which  is  the  cat  and  which 
the  mouse.  Neither  am  I,  for  that  matter;  but  I  have 
the  advantage  of  knowing  him  better  than  he  knows 
me.  However,  here  I  am  for  the  present." 

Alexandra  drew  a  long  and  almost  voluptuous  sigh  of 
content.  "No  more  awful  evenings  in  the  Hofburg! — 
whist  with  his  Majesty,  or,  worse  still,  with  M.  L.;  a 
little  music;  tittle-tattle  about  the  same  threadbare  old 
royalties,  the  last  novel — French  and  wicked — the  play, 
the  last  baby — there  are  always  several;  yawns,  decorum 
ad  nauseam;  mad  desire  to  lie  down  on  the  floor  and 
kick  up  your  heels.  Oh,  just  and  beneficent  Heaven 
that  sent  William  to  Hungary  with  a  wasp  at  his  heel!" 

"Let  us  forget  William — and  Austria.  Where  are  the 
cigarettes?" 

The  girls  smoked  in  silence  for  a  time,  the  Archduch- 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

ess  staring  hard  before  her,  after  her  habit,  as  if  she  were 
poring  over  the  cryptogram  of  the  future.  When  the 
short  Russian  cigarette  had  burned  to  its  mouth-piece 
she  returned  to  the  present. 

"I  suppose  it  will  be  wise  to  pay  my  new  friend  the 
compliment  of  asking  his  advice  about  my  Hungarian 
household — about  the  Obersthofmeisterin,  at  all  events. 
I  will  write  him  an  autograph  letter  to-night.  What 
tact  I  shall  develop  with  a  few  weeks'  practice!  I  won 
der  who  the  new  duenna  will  be?  But  no  one  even  he 
approved  of  could  be  worse  than  Maria  Leopoldina,  and, 
after  twelve  years  in  the  arena  with  her,  I  flatter  myself 
I  am  more  than  a  match  for  the  most  masterful  he  could 
select." 

The  Archduchess  Maria  Leopoldina,  a  member  of  a 
younger  branch  of  the  House  of  Hapsburg,  who  had  suc 
ceeded  the  scrupulous  but  too  obsequious  English  gov 
erness,  had  been  selected,  after  much  anxious  thought 
on  the  part  of  the  Emperor,  consultation  with  his  min 
isters,  and  with  his  old  friend  the  Princess  Sarolta  of 
Windischgratz,  as  especially  fit  for  her  delicate  post. 
The  Empress's  prolonged  absences  from  court,  as  well 
as  the  inevitable  suspicions  engendered  by  her  increas 
ing  repugnance  for  contact  with  common  mortals,  made 
it  doubly  imperative  to  give  the  headstrong  young  Arch 
duchess  a  duenna  who  would,  by  precept  and  example, 
educate  her  conspicuous  charge  in  the  great  responsibili 
ties  of  her  position  and  curb  any  bent  to  eccentricity. 
Maria  Leopoldina,  a  conscientious  woman  of  masterful 
temperament  but  considerable  tact,  had  done  her  work 
well,  and  took  to  herself  the  credit  of  much  that  had 
been  evolved  by  the  thoughtful  mind  of  Ranata  herself. 
Nevertheless,  there  is  no  doubt  that  her  early  lectures, 
delivered  to  an  impatient  but  imaginative  young  princess, 
had  sown  seeds  which  might  have  floated  longer  with  a 

164 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

more  pliable  guardian.  For  several  years  she  insisted 
upon  the  observation  of  the  very  letter  of  her  great  au 
thority;  no  friend  could  Ranata  make  without  her  ap 
proval,  no  acquaintance  talk  with  for  five  minutes  alone. 
The  Archduchess  had  never  appeared  in  the  streets  of 
Vienna  without  her,  but  in  the  country,  particularly  on 
Ranata's  personal  estate  on  the  wildest  part  of  the  Dan 
ube  in  Upper  Austria,  where  they  were  as  secluded  as 
soldiers  in  a  border  fortress,  she  wisely  allowed  her 
charge  a  good  deal  of  liberty;  and  as  the  years  went  on 
she  relaxed  by  imperceptible  degrees  the  rigor  of  her 
sovereignty;  she  left  the  girl  more  and  more  to  herself, 
merely  asserting  her  authority  at  discreet  intervals,  that 
the  rebellious  nature  confided  to  her  should  not  expe 
rience  the  temptations  of  freedom. 

She  knew  that  if  she  had  failed  to  win  her  august 
kinswoman's  heart  she  had  her  respect  and  gratitude;  for 
not  only  had  she  early  suggested  to  Ranata  the  benefit 
she  could  confer  upon  her  house  by  playing  the  role  of 
the  lofty  and  immaculate  princess,  devoid  of  common 
weakness,  inaccessible  to  common  temptations,  but  she 
had  inculcated  the  great  art  of  self-command,  and  in  the 
depths  of  this  profoundly  accepted  lesson  Ranata  had 
discovered  the  strength  to  endure  her  life,  accept  her 
colorless  future,  and  dominate  her  nature  by  her  intellect. 

Between  Maria  Leopoldina  and  Alexandra  there  was 
no  love  lost,  but  there  was  a  golden  and  bejewelled 
truce.  Alexandra,  even  at  sixteen — at  which  age  both 
girls  attended  court  functions,  although  tutors  and  gov 
ernesses  were  in  attendance  for  two  years  longer,  under 
the  general  supervision  of  the  Obersthofmeisterin — was 
too  wise  in  the  ways  of  royalty  openly  to  defy  this  val 
uable  woman,  who  rejoiced  in  the  absolute  approval  of 
the  Emperor  and  his  ministers;  and  the  Obersthofmeis 
terin,  who  often  longed  to  shake  her  and  pack  her  off  to 

165 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

America,  dared  not,  in  this  one  particular,  brave  the 
wrath  of  her  princess.  During  the  first  two  years  of 
her  reign,  however,  they  were  more  than  once  perilously 
close  to  open  war,  and  a  fatal  rupture  might  have  been 
precipitated  by  the  more  impulsive  Alexandra  had  not 
Mrs.  Abbott  arrived  in  Vienna  for  her  step-daughter's 
eighteenth  birthday,  and  during  a  moment  of  extreme 
tension.  Grasping  the  situation  and  its  dangers,  Mrs. 
Abbott  admonished  Alexandra  severely,  and  made  her 
present  the  duenna  with  a  magnificent  set  of  diamond 
stars — given  out  of  the  fulness  of  her  heart  on  this  the 
most  sentimental  of  birthdays.  The  present  was  pe 
culiarly  welcome  to  Maria  Leopoldina,  who,  herself  the 
youngest  of  her  family,  having  married  in  her  uncalcu- 
lating  youth  a  junior  member  of  an  impoverished  house, 
was  sadly  deficient  in  that  jewelled  panoply  which  di 
verts  the  eye  from  the  shabby  gowns  of  so  many  of 
Austria's  noble  dames.  Moreover,  this  concrete  illus 
tration  of  the  vast  wealth  of  the  American  girl  inspired 
respect,  if  not  awe,  and  these  sentiments  were  nourished 
at  decent  intervals  by  other  offerings  of  increasing  mag 
nificence.  As  time  went  on,  Alexandra,  too,  imbibed 
the  great  lesson  of  self-restraint,  and  developed  a  high 
impersonal  way  of  looking  out  upon  life;  she  ceased  to 
irritate  the  Hapsburg,  and  admitted  her  own  debt  as 
well  as  that  of  her  friend.  Nevertheless,  she  had  no 
love  for  Maria  Leopoldina,  and  was  alive  to  all  her  foibles. 
To  Ranata's  remark  she  replied,  assuming  a  severe  and 
elderly  demeanor,  elevating  her  head  until  the  roundness 
left  her  throat,  from  which  her  voice  issued  with  a  scrap 
ing  sound: 

"Will  your  Imperial  Highness  kindly  remember  to 
night  that  the  Princess  Cockolorum  is  only  entitled  to 
one  minute  of  your  august  notice,  as  it  is  necessary  to 
remind  her  that  her  manner  in  public  with  Lieutenant 

1 66 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

von  Poodle  is  unbecoming  in  a  member  of  the  Austrian 
court,  which  has  dignity  if  not  morals?  And  will  your 
Imperial  Highness  exert  yourself  to  remember  that  the 
wife  of  the  American  ambassador,  although  no  doubt 
charming,  is  still  an  American?  It  is  not  necessary  to 
inquire  after  her  entire  family.  And — my  dear  child, 
your  hair  looks  like  a  rat's  nest !  I  shall  dismiss  that  coif 
feur  to-morrow!" 

Ranata  laughed.  "She  should  be  glad  of  a  holiday, 
poor  soul.  I  had  rather  be  a  poor  prisoner  of  a  princess 
than  a  slave  of  a  duenna  like  an  Obersthofmeisterin — I 
have  an  idea!  Why  not  Sarolta?  She  is  Hungarian. 
She  is  in  every  way  suitable.  She  would  be  persona 
grata  here,  is  loved  and  trusted  by  my  father,  and  while 
standing  to  the  world  as  an  impregnable  outpost,  would 
really  give  me  a  free  hand,  and  with  all  her  cynical  soul 
enjoy  the  experiment.  I  shall  write  to  her  at  once  to 
manage  it — as  only  she  can.  That  would  be  the  last 
thing  necessary  to  make  me  feel  as  if  I  had  been  born 
again.  Now,  Alexis,  let  us  give  our  attention  to  these 
rooms.  I  think  I  shall  have  cloth  of  gold  in  these  panels, 
and  curtains  of  these  Turkish  embroideries.  My  writing- 
room  must  be  blue.  Shall  I  have  my  bedroom  in  cloth 
of  silver  and  white  ? — and  my  dressing-room  in  these  old- 
rose  brocades?  And  all  the  furniture  must  be  new — 
nothing  ancestral  here!  There  is  an  intoxicating  free 
dom  in  the  air  of  Hungary— ah!  I  really  do  feel  as  if  I 
had  been  born  again." 

IX 

The  Princess  Sarolta  was  obscuring  the  moon  with  the 
smoke-clouds  of  her  big  black  cigar.  It  was  nine  o'clock 
—dinner  in  the  Kiralyi  Palota  was  now  served  at  half- 
past  seven  —  and  the  court  could  smoke  behind  the 

167 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

pillars  and  the  vines  of  the  long  stone  terrace  beneath 
the  west  windows  of  the  private  apartments  of  the  King 
without  consideration  of  possible  field-glasses  on  the 
heights  above.  The  Princess,  who  normally  resembled 
a  mummy,  looked  more  like  a  witch  in  her  encircling 
fumes,  and  her  eyes  glittered  and  blinked  behind  the 
red  disk  of  her  cigar.  They  were  black  eyes,  and  their 
fires  in  youth,  and  indeed  long  after  Nature  had  given 
her  more  than  one  admonishing  nip  and  claw,  had  reck 
lessly  leaped  to  so  many  other  combustible  hearts  that 
even  now  the  court  gossips  disentangled  the  pulsing 
tales  of  her  past  from  others  more  commonplace.  But 
with  wrinkles  and  man's  manifest  preference  for  her  con 
versation  had  come  not  only  reform  but  the  evolution 
of  a  severe  and  uncompromising  code  of  morals.  She 
astonished  Vienna  for  a  number  of  years  by  the  vehe 
mence  of  her  criticisms  and  her  treatment  of  certain  noble 
dames  whose  fires  were  still  unquenched,  or  who  found 
in  intrigue  that  taste  of  liberty  which  knocks  alluringly 
upon  even  the  doors  of  Austria.  With  the  mellowness 
of  approaching  age  the  enthusiasm  of  the  Princess  had 
tempered  somewhat,  and  it  was  observed  that  she 
grinned  behind  her  big  cigar  when  an  after-dinner  scandal 
exhaled  a  faint  perfume  of  novelty ;  but  by  this  time  her 
fame  as  a  she-dragon  was  securely  established.  Her 
tactics,  combined  with  a  fortune  inherited  coincidently 
with  her  reform,  from  a  relative  who  had  married  a 
wealthy  and,  as  it  proved,  childless  Jewess  of  Budapest, 
gave  her  a  unique  and  impregnable  position  which  made 
her  the  most  natural  guardian  in  Austria  for  a  young 
princess  who  had  left  her  father's  roof  to  hold  court  in 
his  most  conspicuous  possession.  The  Emperor,  who 
was  a  little  afraid  of  Sarolta,  but  who  asked  her  advice 
on  all  momentous  domestic  questions,  bundled  her  off 
to  Budapest  with  a  deep  sigh  of  relief.  Her  reputation 

168 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

as  a  dragoness  relieved  him  of  much  of  the  anxiety  with 
which  he  had  entered  upon  this  radical  experiment,  and 
he  had  not  chanced  to  take  note  of  her  mellowing.  But 
Ranata  had,  and,  believing  herself  exempt  from  the 
weakness  to  which  the  Princess  still  showed  her  teeth, 
knew  that  she  would  have  the  real  authority,  while  the 
Obersthofmeisterin  sat  scowling  in  the  foreground,  her 
wrinkles  impassive  above  the  chuckling  within.  As  for 
Count  von  Konigsegg,  Sarolta  had  begun  his  education 
while  un wrinkled,  and  not  only  had  done  him  many 
good  turns  since,  but  had  taught  him  to  believe  that 
there  was  one  greater  diplomatist  in  Austria  than  the 
Princess  Sarolta  Windischgratz,  and  that  was  himself. 
Therefore  when,  after  a  hasty  and  pleading  note  from 
Ranata,  and  a  long  and  humorous  petition  from  Alex 
andra,  she  gave  the  minister  to  understand  .that  it  was 
his  wish  she  assume  charge  of  his  interests  in  Hungary, 
it  was  but  a  matter  of  hours  before  her  women  were 
packing  her  boxes.  She  had  come  to  Buda  in  full  pos 
session  of  his  confidence. 

The  situation  amused  her  intensely,  but  while  she  was 
too  wise  ever  to  betray  a  confidence  or  to  share  her 
amusement  of  a  man  with  his  enemy,  yet  she  did  not 
scruple  to  use  any  secret  she  might  possess  when  en 
gaged  in  the  manipulation  of  human  destinies.  She 
cared  as  little  for  Konigsegg  as  for  the  Emperor,  senti 
mental  memories  being  no  longer  insistent.  But  Nature 
had  denied  her  children,  and  she  had  a  considerable 
hoard  of  affection  in  her  erratic  but  wholly  human 
depths.  Now  that  Rudolf  was  dead,  she  cared  more  for 
Ranata  and  Alexandra  than  for  any  one  in  the  world, 
and  was  determined,  to  use  the  phrase  of  her  American 
protegee,  that  they  should  have  the  "time  of  their 
lives." 

To-night  she  grinned  amiably  at  them  from  the  depths 
169 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

of  a  rocking-chair,  long  since  presented  to  her  by  Alex 
andra,  which  accompanied  her  wherever  she  went. 
The  party  was  a  small  one:  the  Obersthofmeisterin  and 
her  charges,  two  young  Hungarian  ladies-in-waiting  of 
her  selection,  the  Countess  Vilma  Festetics  and  the 
Countess  Piroska  Zapolya,  and  two  invited  guests, 
Prince  Bela  Illehazy,  a  magnate,  who,  in  simple  evening 
dress,  looked  a  middle-aged  and  somewhat  humorous 
man  of  the  world,  and  Count  Zrinyi,  whose  national  fire 
and  still  youthful  ardors — he  was  thirty-five  in  years — 
had  given  him  over  to  love  of  an  American  on  the  night 
of  a  great  and  memorable  dinner.  It  had  been  decided 
that  the  Grand  Chamberlain  and  other  court  officials 
were  only  to  serve  at  great  functions,  and  that  those 
who  were  in  waiting  upon  the  Emperor  during  his 
annual  sojourn  were  to  give  their  services  to  the  Arch 
duchess  when  she  demanded  them. 

Zrinyi  was  leaning  against  one  of  the  pillars,  his  black 
eyes  flaming  down  upon  Alexandra,  who  smiled  upon 
him  indulgently ;  she  thought  him  a  nice  boy  who  might 
be  useful  in  the  cotillion  and  in  general  advice  of  a  lighter 
nature.  They  were  all  discussing  the  momentous  ques 
tion  of  the  first  entertainment  to  be  given  by  the  new 
court. 

The  dictum  of  the  Princess  Sarolta,  that  it  must  be  a 
great  ball,  to  which  men  and  women  should  come  in  the 
ancient  dress  of  Hungary,  had  been  received  with  ap 
proval  by  all  but  Prince  Illehazy,  who  scowled  at  his 
girth. 

"I  thought  I  should  burst  the  other  night,"  he  ad 
mitted.  "And  I  must  say  that  my  native  costume  al 
ways  makes  me  feel  more  or  less  a  fool.  I  suppose  I 
have  lived  too  much  elsewhere." 

"You  are  no  patriot,"  said  his  old  friend,  whose  eye, 
as  it  followed  his,  twinkled  with  some  malice.  "I  in- 

170 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

sist  that  you  give  up  Vienna  and  Paris  this  winter  and 
remain  here  as  my  private  cabinet." 

"You  may  need  help,"  he  murmured,  and  he  looked 
at  Ranata. 

"And  we?  Are  we  to  wear  Hungarian  costumes, 
too?"  asked  Alexandra. 

"By  all  means,"  answered  Ranata  for  the  Princess. 
"  I  have  already  designed  mine;  the  skirts  and  apron  will 
be  of  white  lace,  and  the  bodice  of  black  velvet." 

"That  will  be  your  second  stroke  of  diplomacy," 
murmured  Alexandra.  "But  it  seems  to  me  that  I 
should  be  a  screaming  absurdity  in  an  ancient  Hun 
garian  costume." 

"Not  if — not  if — "  muttered  Zrinyi. 

"  Why  not  make  it  a  fancy-dress  ball,  everybody  to  be 
a  personage  of  the  court  of  Matthias  Corvinus,  during 
whose  reign  Hungary  reached  the  height  of  its  splendor 
and  power  and  prosperity?"  asked  the  Countess  Piroska 
Zapolya.  She  looked  full  at  the  Archduchess  with  in 
nocent  blue  eyes  which  were  too  widely  opened  for 
frankness.  She  was  excessively  pretty,  and  her  mouth 
pouted  like  a  spoiled  child's.  She  was  a  descendant  of 
that  Stephen  Zapolya,  vayvode  of  Transylvania,  who, 
in  1526,  after  the  terrible  battle  of  Mohacs,  when  Hun 
gary  was  threatened  with  annihilation  by  the  Turks, 
and  her  king  lost  his  life,  was  elected  to  rule  over  the 
distracted  country  by  the  faction  which  believed  in  a 
native  dynasty  and  peaceful  relations  with  the  enemy. 
Another  powerful  faction  elected  Ferdinand  of  Austria, 
and  in  spite  of  the  occupations  of  the  Turks,  which  gave 
the  Hapsburg  as  little  authority  as  his  rival,  his  dynast} 
kept  its  grasp  upon  the  shadow  until  it  became  substance ; 
while  the  son  of  the  trooper  who  had  been  raised  to  a 
position  of  such  power  and  magnificence  by  Matthias 
that  his  ambition  knew  no  bounds,  was  unable  to  ex- 

171 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

tend  his  rule  beyond  Transylvania,  and  his  dynasty 
ended  in  his  son.  His  descendants,  powerful  magnates 
as  they  were,  had  two  enduring  grievances :  their  inferior 
descent  as  compared  with  that  of  the  magnates  whose 
line  ran  back  unbroken  to  Arpad  and  haunted  the  mists 
beyond,  and  the  ancient  victory  of  the  Hapsburgs.  The 
first  grievance  was  little  discussed,  but  no  Zapolya  per 
mitted  himself  or  others  to  forget  that  his  right  to  the 
throne  was  as  great  as  the  Austrian's.  Impoverished, 
and  knowing  little  of  the  world  beyond  Budapest,  the 
present  generation  was  even  fiercer  in  pride  than  the 
majority  of  their  order,  and  bitterer  in  their  hatred  of 
the  Hapsburgs.  They  were  wise  enough,  however,  to 
know  that  Hungary  had  not  the  strength  for  a  native 
dynasty,  even  could  one  be  established  without  devas 
tating  civil  wars,  and  the  father  and  brother  of  the  clever 
little  maid  of  honor  had  been  the  first  to  fling  open  the 
gates  and  drive  out  the  wild  waters  of  unrest  towards 
William  of  Germany.  Count  von  Konigsegg  had  ad 
vised  the  selection  of  Piroska,  for  he  believed  she  would 
be  hostile  and  a  willing  spy,  and  Sarolta  had  acquiesced 
because  she  believed  that  herself  and  Ranata  would  be 
more  than  a  match  for  any  disaffected  young  woman. 
Outwardly  the  Countess  was  irreproachable.  Her  man 
ners  were  high-bred  and  charming;  five  centuries  of  in 
termarriage  with  the  best  blood  of  Roumania  and  Hun 
gary  had  obliterated  all  characteristics  of  John  Zapolya 
except  his  ambition.  She  was  lively  and  cultivated, 
and  there  was  nothing  in  her  manner  to  betray  her 
hostility.  She  was  the  only  enemy  in  camp.  The 
other  maid  of  honor,  Countess  Vilma  Festetics,  although 
proud  and  reserved,  had  loved  the  dead  Elizabeth  and 
had  transferred  her  large  measure  of  passionate  loyalty, 
since  unclaimed,  to  the  princess  who,  in  her  great  beauty 
and  greater  isolation,  seemed  to  her  the  most  romantic 

172 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

figure  on  earth.  Without  humor  or  more  logic  than 
the  larger  division  of  her  sex,  she  was  capable  of  mar 
tyrdom  for  her  ideals,  however  narrow.  But  she  was 
bright  and  shrewd,  and  never  having  trusted  Piroska 
Zapolya,  suspected  that  she  might  be  too  high  in  the  fa 
vor  of  Ranata's  enemies.  In  appearance  the  young  Coun 
tess  was  of  a  type  more  often  seen  in  Hungary  than  de 
scribed;  she  had  neither  the  sparkling  blond  nor  the 
voluptuous  brunette  beauty  which,  with  their  womanly 
figures  and  happy  animation,  have  made  the  women  of 
that  romantic  country  so  famous.  She  was  small  and 
slender,  and  her  coloring  was  drab ;  under  the  hauteur  of 
her  delicately  cut  pale  face  were  the  tense  lines  of  tragedy. 
Her  breeding  helped  her  to  control  a  high  and  intolerant 
temper.  Of  the  most  ancient  blood  in  Hungary,  poor, 
high-spirited,  and  proud,  she  had  seen  nothing  of  the 
world,  but  her  high  accomplishments  and  qualities,  and 
the  affection  which  she  had  inspired  in  the  Queen  while 
a  child,  had  induced  Sarolta  to  select  her  for  what 
the  cynical  elder  believed  to  be  a  temporary  post.  She 
was  also  glad  to  give  the  girl  a  few  months  of  light-heart 
ed  luxury,  and  would  have  included  many  like  her  had 
it  been  possible. 

"She  is  the  sort  that  in  a  less  enlightened  day  would 
have  used  the  poisoned  bowl  and  then  killed  herself  at 
the  foot  of  the  altar,"  she  had  said  to  Ranata;  "but 
she  will  be  loyal  to  you,  and  when  she  has  nothing  on 
her  mind  she  can  be  very  lively  and  young." 

"We  have  many  costumes  of  the  time  in  our  chests, 
Highness,"  the  Za~polya  was  saying.  "I  am  sure  that 
Miss  Abbott  would  look  charming  in  one  of  rose-colored 
velvet — to  which  she  would  be  more  than  welcome ;  and 
if  you  conclude  to  ask  the  Deputies,  some  tailor  here 
could  use  the  others  as  models.  We  have  also  two  or 
three  of  the  purple  velvet  costumes  with  the  long  gold 

173 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

chains,  and  the  head  braid  work  of  gold  and  pearls,  worn 
by  two  of  the  three  hundred  youths  sent  by  Matthias  in 
the  embassy  to  Charles  VIII. ,  King  of  France.  If  you 
were  escorted  into  the  throne-room  by  a  great  number 
of  pages  in  this  costume,  Highness,  the  effect  would  be 
one  of  perfect  loveliness." 

The  Archduchess  understood  her  perfectly,  but  she 
felt  her  own  strength,  and  was  amused  at  the  flash  in 
the  American's  eyes. 

Moreover,  her  mind  grasped  the  peculiar  advantages 
which  a  fancy-dress  ball  would  afford  herself.  She  said 
sweetly : 

"The  national  costume  during  the  reign  of  Matthias 
differed  little  from  that  of  any  other  reign,  I  suppose?" 

"It  merely  reached  its  height  of  extravagance.  The 
national  characteristics  have  always  remained  the  same." 

"Then,  if  you  will  allow  me,  I  will  look  at  your  cos 
tumes,  and,  no  doubt,  find  one  that  I  shall  be  delighted 
to  copy." 

In  spite  of  her  hostility  the  little  Countess  was  flattered. 
She  assured  her  princess,  with  something  like  spontane 
ous  enthusiasm,  that  she  should  order  the  costumes 
brought  to  the  palace  on  the  morrow. 

"I  have  a  painting  of  Matthias  in  his  robes  of  state," 
said  Prince  Illehazy.  "I  wonder  will  any  one  have  the 
courage  to  impersonate  him?  He  was  a  mighty  figure, 
that  son  of  John  Hunyadi,  and  I  have  not  the  slightest 
doubt  that  the  blood  of  kings  was  in  his  veins.  There 
is  no  man  in  Hungary,  alas!  fit  to  wear  his  mantle,  not 
even  at  a  fancy-dress  ball." 

"He  was  a  plebeian,"  said  the  Countess  Piroska,  lift 
ing  her  little  nose.  "And  even  could  it  be  proved  that 
John  Hunyadi  was  the  son  of  King  Sigismund,  all  his 
fame,  even  the  medicinal  water  named  after  him,  could 
not  obliterate  the  bar  sinister." 

174 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

"The  little  cat!"  said  Prince  Illehazy  under  his  breath. 
He  replied,  "When  a  man  makes  a  success  of  his  life  the 
bar  sinister  lends  him  the  added  distinction  of  pictu- 
resqueness,  and  not  only  did  the  Knight  of  the  Black 
Raven  have  the  blood  of  real  kings  in  his  veins,  but  Sig- 
ismund  united  on  his  head  the  crowns  of  Imperial  Ger 
many,  Hungary,  and  Bohemia.  Sigismund  had  his 
faults,  but  he  was  the  head  of  the  Holy  Roman  Em 
pire,  and  neither  he,  nor  his  great  son,  and  greater 
grandson,  need  descendants  to  keep  the  family  name 
alive." 

"I  suppose  the  ball  must  open  with  the  Chardash," 
said  Ranata  hastily,  and  forbearing  to  glance  at  the 
crushed  Zapolya.  "And  I  do  not  know  how  to  dance 
it!" 

Zrinyi  found  his  opportunity.  "May  I  be  permitted 
a  suggestion,  Highness?"  he  asked.  "The  Chardash 
has  been  ruined  by  society — is  a  miserable  degenerate 
thing.  They  sway  and  glide  and  languish.  Have  you 
ever  seen  the  peasants  dance  it  ?  They  have  preserved 
it  in  all  its  original  simplicity,  energy,  and  variety.  If 
you  could  see  them — and  then  dance  it  here  in  the  pal 
ace  as  it  should  be  danced — it  is  never  vulgar,  never 
boisterous,  merely  virile,  full  of  the  abandon  of  a  happy 
and  healthy  people — " 

"But  how  can  I  see  it?  I  learn  any  dance  quickly, 
but  I  must  see  it." 

"To-morrow  is  a  festa,"  said  Zrinyi  eagerly.  "The 
peasants  will  be  dancing  all  day.  If  you  would  go  far 
enough  you  would  see  them  in  their  native  costumes — 
impossible  near  Budapest ;  but  if  you  would  deign  to  go 
five  hours  on  the  train — to  a  village  on  one  of  my  es 
tates—" 

"Deign!"  whispered  Alexandra. 

The  Archduchess  turned  to  her  Obersthofmeisterin 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

with  a  very  pretty  show  of  deference .  "I  should  like  it , " 
she  said.  "And  I  believe  it  is  the  right  thing  to  do.  I 
could  go  very  simply  dressed;  they  have  not  yet  seen 
me ;  I  should  be  under  no  restraint — what  do  you  think, 
ma  princes  set" 

,  "I  shall  have  to  go  too,"  grumbled  Sarolta.  "And 
there  must  be  no  publicity  about  it.  We  must  not  get 
the  reputation  here  in  Budapest  for  eccentricities; 
neither  must  we  ever  explain  ourselves — how  early  can 
we  leave  here  in  the  morning?" 

"At  five?"  said  Zrinyi. 

' '  And  we  can  return  late — the  palace  can  be  lighted  up 
at  seven  as  usual.  I  like  the  idea  of  seeing  the  Chardash 
properly  danced  once  more — so  be  it,  then.  Mind  you 
are  at  the  station  before  us,  G£ra,  and  that  you  exert  all 
your  talents  in  carrying  out  the  programme.  We  shall 
dine  with  you,  of  course." 

"Hurrah!"  said  Alexandra. 

"  Ely  en!"  murmured  Zrinyi. 

Ranata  for  a  moment  said  nothing.  Then  with  a 
sudden  impulse  for  which  she  could  give  no  reason  then 
or  later,  she  turned  to  Alexandra  and  said,  "Where  is 
your  brother?  Have  you  heard  from  him?" 

"Not  a  word  since  I  asked  him  to  come  here.  He  had 
probably  started  on  his  wanderings  before  my  letter 
reached  Berlin.  He  may  be  on  the  Russian  steppes  or 
over  in  Pest.  The  one  is  as  likely  as  the  other." 


Fessenden  drew  his  leg  over  his  horse's  neck  and 
looked  idly  about  him.  The  sun  was  directly  overhead; 
he  had  forgotten  his  compass,  and,  apparently,  he  was  lost 
in  the  very  middle  of  the  great  plain  of  Hungary.  But 

176 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

he  had  been  lost  many  times  before ,  and  in  far  worse 
places  than  this  green  and  smiling  expanse;  so  flat  and 
lying  in  an  atmosphere  of  such  clarity  he  could  well  be 
lieve  the  gentle  Magyar  boast  that  with  the  naked  eye  a 
man  could  be  distinguished  from  a  beast  at  a  distance 
of  fifteen  miles.  There  appeared  to  be  nothing  what 
ever  on  the  horizon ;  but  an  occasional  small  farm  dotted 
the  prairie,  and  here  and  there  he  saw  a  goose  girl  with 
her  little  flock,  a  shepherd  in  his  native  costume:  along 
white  coat  of  spun  wool,  with  panels  of  black  embroid 
ered  at  the  edges;  a  garment  as  immaculate  as  if  just 
from  the  loom,  and  swung  carelessly  about  the  shoulders, 
the  sleeves  evidently  designed  for  ornament  alone.  The 
little  goose  girls  might  have  stood  for  a  study  in  lonely 
childhood;  as  Fessenden  turned  his  head  one  was  the 
solitary  figure  in  the  vast  expanse  behind  him ;  but  when 
he  passed  her  she  had  nodded  brightly  and  seemed 
quite  content  with  her  lot.  It  was  not  his  first  visit  to 
Hungary ;  he  had  voyaged  on  the  Danube  and  the  Theiss 
in  his  canoe,  and  had  climbed  Retyezat  to  the  lake  of 
Zenoga,  making  his  way  thence  into  Roumania.  He 
knew  something  of  the  language  and  much  of  the  hos 
pitality  of  the  amiable  peasant  people,  and  could  recall 
no  other  country  in  whose  wilderness  he  would  rather 
be  lost.  Moreover,  the  great  plains  of  Hungary  re 
minded  him  of  the  wild  reaches  of  his  own  country. 
They  were  green  and  smiling,  indescribably  friendly  and 
gentle  of  aspect,  in  spite  of  the  barbarous  hordes,  the 
fierce  battles  that  had  ravaged  them,  the  blood  that  had 
soaked  their  soil;  and  the  American  deserts,  without  his 
tory  of  consequence,  scowled  eternally  at  the  sun  that 
devoured  them,  and  gave  no  hospitality  to  man.  But 
both  represented  Nature  in  one  of  her  abrupt  desires  to 
emulate  the  plains  of  Space;  both  gave  man  a  sense  of 
personal  freedom,  of  disseverance  from  the  complica- 
12  177 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

tions  of  life.  And  the  great  Alfold  had  long  since  sug 
gested  to  the  practical  mind  of  Fessenden  what  could 
be  done  with  the  Western  deserts;  in  the  last  five  years 
he  had  reclaimed  the  largest  of  them  by  means  of  a 
complicated  system  of  irrigation,  and  encouragement 
of  immigration  from  the  Eastern  States.  One  of  his 
dreams  was  to  make  the  United  States  fertile  and  pro 
ductive  from  end  to  end,  if  only  to  relieve  the  congestion 
in  the  great  centres  and  give  the  plain  people  of  his  coun 
try  the  happiness  they  constantly,  with  reason  or  with 
out,  demanded  as  their  birthright.  But  he  had  sighed 
humorously  more  than  once  as  he  reflected  that  to  com 
pass  all  his  plans  would  require  at  least  two  more  life 
times  than  Nature  had  placed  at  the  disposal  of  any 
man. 

But  he  had  accomplished  a  great  deal,  and  he  was 
only  thirty-one.  Thirty  years  more,  and  did  his  energies 
survive  devastating  tropical  fevers,  the  rarely  relaxing 
strain  of  organizing  and  guarding  industries,  invest 
ments,  transit  systems,  the  ever-trembling  aggregations 
of  capital  called  Trusts,  sound  a  money  basis  as  his  own 
were  built  upon,  all  the  manifold  ramifications  of  a 
fortune,  which,  through  the  increased  resources  of  the 
country  during  the  past  ten  years,  through  his  own  and 
his  father's  genius,  and  by  the  mere  force  of  momentum, 
was  now  close  upon  a  billion  dollars;  still  far  in  the  lead 
of  all  the  other  colossal  fortunes  which  in  the  past  dec 
ade  had  raised  the  United  States  to  a  position  no  less 
menacing  to  herself  than  to  the  rest  of  the  world; 
did  not  only  his  health,  his  life,  survive  the  strain, 
but  his  ambition,  his  hope,  his  faith  in  the  worth 
while,  then  might  he  expect  something  like  immortal 
fame. 

Most  men  would  have  said  that  he  had  fame  and 
power  enough  to  satisfy  any  man  of  his  years.  His 

178 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

accomplishment  in  South  America  alone  had  made  his 
name  a  byword  on  two  hemispheres.  In  company  with 
his  college  friend,  Jeremiah  Keene,  who  promptly  re 
nounced  the  Northwest,  he  had  gone  to  South  America, 
intent  upon  fencing  it  off  from  European  invasion  and 
saving  his  country  from  what  he  believed  must  other 
wise  be  an  inevitable  and  humiliating  war.  Privately, 
he  thought  the  Monroe  Doctrine  an  obsolete  absurdity, 
and  heartily  wished  it  never  had  been  conceived.  Like 
all  of  his  countrymen  who  thought,  he  would  infinitely 
have  preferred  the  civilizing  forces  of  Europe  in  South 
America  to  the  tumultuous  opera -bouffe  republics  of 
vicious  hybrids,  where  no  American  could  invest  his 
money  with  a  reasonable  certainty  of  seeing  the  tail  of 
it  a  year  hence;  but  the  Monroe  Doctrine  was  as  sacred 
to  the  American  people  as  the  Lord's  Prayer,  therefore 
the  only  thing  to  do  was  to  make  it  theirs  in  fact  as  well 
as  in  fancy,  and  such  an  accomplishment  must  be  the 
work  of  one  man,  of  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
who  possessed  that  hitherto  unheard-of  combination 
of  boundless  wealth  and  burning  patriotism.  The  gov 
ernment  would  never  give  a  serious  thought  to  the  mat 
ter  until  the  fleets  of  Europe  were  in  the  Caribbean 
Sea. 

The  three  years  in  South  America  Fessenden  looked 
back  upon  as  the  most  picturesque  and  satisfying  of  his 
life.  He  had  twice  nearly  died  of  fever,  and  he  had  been 
stabbed  and  shot,  but  life  had  been  adventurous,  excit 
ing,  never  worth  a  moment's  purchase;  above  all,  one 
long  test  of  his  gifts  and  resources,  with  victory  in  the 
end.  Where  immediate  bribery  had  availed  not  with 
the  suspicious  villain  in  temporary  power,  he  had  track 
ed  the  biding  rival  to  his  lair,  furnished  him  with  the 
necessary  outfit  and  promises,  while  Keene  and  other 
agents  persuaded  the  ever-disaffected  people  that  an- 

179 


RULERS     OF    KINGS 

other  revolution  was  due.  With  the  impromptu  gun 
boats  and  inexhaustible  ammunition  sent  down  by  Mr. 
Abbott,  the  revolution  was  an  invariable  success,  and 
the  enthroned  dictator,  with  all  the  vices  of  his  kind, 
was  still  shrewd  enough  to  comprehend  that  did  he 
wish  his  reign  to  be  permanent  he  must  be  true  to  his 
benefactor  and  give  him  a  free  hand. 

As  a  state  passed  into  Fessenden's  control  he  built  a 
railroad  close  to  the  coast,  and  as  he  employed  native 
labor  as  much  as  possible,  and  there  was  a  rapid  influx 
of  American  merchants,  he  was  reverenced  as  the  White 
God  who  had  brought  security  and  prosperity  to  a  tor 
mented  country. 

With  the  more  advanced  states  it  was  a  mere  question 
of  capital,  particularly  as  the  enterprise  was  a  private 
one,  and  sure  to  bring  an  increase  of  civilization  and 
wealth.  The  last  tie  had  been  laid  seven  years  ago,  and 
South  America  girdled  by  a  complete  system  of  railways, 
with  at  least  one  train  on  each  section  running  daily. 
To-day  the  trains  had  increased  ten  per  cent.,  many 
thousands  of  discontented  North  Americans  had  em 
igrated,  there  were  American  school-houses,  churches, 
villages,  and  towns  in  every  state,  and  a  new  and  enor 
mously  profitable  investment  had  been  found  for  Amer 
ican  capital.  Four  hundred  thousand  negroes  had  em 
igrated,  and,  reverting  easily  to  a  state  of  amiable  and 
naked  barbarism — sinking  to  the  bottom  as  naturally 
as  the  black  mud  of  the  Mississippi — worked  in  the  fields 
for  the  white  man  and  forgot  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.  Fessenden's  praises  had  been  sung  until 
he  might  have  become  conceited  and  obnoxious  had  it 
not  been  for  the  hostile  press,  which  called  him  a  robber 
baron,  an  unscrupulous  blood-letter,  and  a  future  Czar; 
and  so  preserved  the  balance. 

Then  had  come  the  long  years  at  home,  varied  only  by 

180 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

the  yearly  tramp  in  Europe  and  an  occasional  visit  to 
South  America,  where  Keene  was  his  general  representa 
tive,  and  his  boyhood  chum,  Jeff  Hunter,  his  scout  and 
secret  agent.  Two-thirds  of  the  control  of  affairs  had 
gradually  passed  into  his  hands,  but  he  had  found  time 
to  carry  out  his  father's  more  personal  programme  as 
well  as  his  own:  the  great  army  of  working-men  in  his 
employ  believed  in  him  blindly,  and  withstood  the  press 
ure  of  trades-unions.  He  had,  indeed,  raised  the  stand 
ard  of  wages  throughout  the  United  States,  and  had 
made  so  many  bitter  enemies  that  much  of  his  best 
talent  was  consumed  in  circumventing  the  attempts  of 
other  great  capitalists  to  ruin  him.  With  the  decent 
laboring  man  he  was  more  popular  than  any  President 
of  the  United  States  could  hope  to  be ;  and  this  class  was 
not  only  grateful  for  his  actual  benefits,  and  appreciated 
his  sincerity,  but  believed  that  he  had  been  as  especially 
created  to  pilot  the  United  States  through  her  difficul 
ties  as  the  great  men  of  the  early  days  of  the  republic. 
His  methods  and  his  genius  were  different,  but  so  were 
the  times.  With  the  professional  politician  of  the  labor 
ing  class,  with  that  breed  who  made  their  bread  and  beer 
by  agitating,  he  was  deservedly  unpopular,  but  he  now 
had  most  of  them  in  his  pocket,  and  they  gave  him  little 
trouble.  He  hoped  to  bring  about  a  condition  of  living 
in  the  United  States  which  would  avert  a  death  struggle 
between  capital  and  labor;  if  this  task  were  beyond  him, 
then  would  he  at  least  be  in  a  position  in  some  measure 
to  control  it. 

When  the  war  broke  out  with  Spain  it  was  a  matter  of 
deep  mortification  and  disappointment  to  him  that  the 
great  electrical  and  mechanical  ideal  he  had  conceived 
in  his  youth  was  so  far  from  completion.  It  had,  indeed, 
given  him  more  trouble  than  all  his  other  enterprises 
together.  Three  accomplished  electricians  had  met 

181 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

with  violent  deaths  in  the  building  on  the  prairie,  and  he 
had  their  discontented  families  on  his  hands.  Two  re 
porters  had  been  maimed  for  life  while  attempting  to 
solve  a  mystery  which  annoyed  the  public,  accustomed 
tc  the  easy  elucidations  of  the  press,  and  others  had 
"lost  their  jobs "  for  failure  as  signal,  if  less  painful.  All 
these  men  were  among  Fessenden's  bitterest  and  most 
enterprising  foes. 

Again  and  again,  when  his  keenest  attention  was  de 
manded  in  New  York,  he  had  received  an  excited  tele 
gram  bidding  him  hasten  to  the  spot  and  witness  the 
final  combination  which  was  to  affect  the  great  result; 
and  as  invariably  he  had  added  to  the  sum  of  his  dis 
appointments.  Five  years  ago  the  buildings,  in  the 
course  of  a  wind-storm,  had  burned  to  the  ground,  and 
not  only  the  difficult  and  expensive  machinery  had  gone 
with  them,  but  the  personal  effects  of  several  hundred 
men.  More  than  once  Fessenden's  faith  had  been 
shaken,  and  even  with  the  vast  resources  at  his  disposal 
he  had  hesitated  before  the  increasing  costliness  of  his 
coy  ideal;  but  he  dreaded  the  possibly  demoralizing 
effect  of  his  first  failure;  the  position  in  which  he 
could  place  the  United  States  lured  him  on;  and  his 
father  believed  in  the  idea  and  encouraged  him  to  per 
sist.  When  the  war  threatened,  Fessenden  went  out  to 
his  Western  settlement  and  worked  in  the  laboratory 
and  machine-shops  himself.  At  the  last  possible  mo 
ment  he  hastened  home  and  raised  one  of  the  most  sat 
isfactory  regiments  that  went  to  Cuba.  By  this  time 
he  was  a  rigid  disciplinarian,  and  his  original  genius  for 
detail  was  fully  developed.  He  also  found  his  oppor 
tunity  to  distinguish  himself,  and  returned  to  New  York 
better  pleased  with  life  than  since  he  had  left  South 
America. 

And  the  old  Fessenden  ?  There  was  much  of  him  left, 
182 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

for  strong  individualities  with  the  eternal  boy  in  them 
change  less  than  psychologists  would  have  us  believe, 
however  much  they  may  develop.  He  was  less  enthusi 
astic  about  some  of  his  old  ideals ;  his  patience  was  at  the 
same  time  greater  and  less;  he  was  even  more  practical 
than  Nature  had  made  him,  matter  of  fact  and  intoler 
ant  of  shams,  and  somewhat  hardened  and  cynical  by 
his  constant  manipulation  of  fabulous  wealth  and  the 
buying  of  men.  Although  money  would  never  be  his 
god,  his  life  and  times  had  taught  him  to  respect,  almost 
to  reverence  it  as  the  mightiest  force  in  the  world  of 
his  day.  He  had  in  his  brief  span  watched  the  crum 
bling  of  ancient  aristocracies,  the  progressive  ascendency 
of  the  middle  classes  all  over  Europe,  their  reconstruc 
tion  of  power  in  their  various  states,  their  contributions 
to  solidity  and  permanence,  their  slow  absorption  of  the 
helpless  classes  above,  and  their  increasing  contempt  for 
royal  figure-heads ;  in  his  own  country  he  had  witnessed 
an  outburst  of  wealth  that  in  volume  and  results  had 
never  occurred  before  in  the  history  of  the  world.  He 
saw  the  financial  centre  of  gravity  swinging  steadily 
from  London  to  New  York,  the  enormous  aggregations 
of  capital,  combined  with  the  unlimited  production  of 
the  United  States,  controlling  the  markets  of  the  world. 
Money  had  raised  the  United  States  from  a  negligible 
quantity,  often  mentioned  with  disrespect,  into  a  men 
ace  which  was  winning  for  her  the  precarious  tributes 
of  hatred  and  abuse,  more  especially  since  she  had  let 
it  be  seen  that  she  estimated  affectionate  overtures  at 
their  just  value. 

Therefore  was  her  most  characteristic  product  filled 
with  a  quiet  and  gentle  arrogance,  sadly,  if  contemptu 
ously,  confident  of  the  illimitable  powers  of  wealth,  and 
owning  to  a  sincere  respect  for  but  one  man  in  Europe. 
With  that  man,  in  spite  of  a  deep  and  mutual  friendship, 

183 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

he  played  many  a  game  of  chess,  and  once  in  a  while 
he  was  beaten. 

He  no  longer  regarded  the  severe  and  ofttimes  thun 
derous  visage  of  William  of  Germany  with  envy;  for 
time  and  work,  fever  and  bitter  anxieties  had  robbed 
his  own  face  of  all  its  freshness  and  most  of  its  youth. 
His  long  body  had  lost  its  lankness,  and  was  closely 
knit,  properly  covered,  and  very  erect  and  imposing; 
but  his  face  was  thin,  sallow,  lined,  and  his  finely 
cut  features  had  acquired  the  sharpness  peculiar  to  the 
American  of  intellect  who  gives  his  life  to  practical 
affairs — the  sort  that  has  the  mere  million-making  kink 
is  always  as  fat  of  face  as  of  wit.  But  his  smile  was  still 
quick  and  delightful,  and  his  eyes,  if  sharper,  were  as 
bright  and  dark,  sometimes  as  happy  and  eager  as  ever. 
He  had  acquired  the  trick  of  throwing  back  his  head, 
lowering  his  upper  lid,  and  darting  a  look  over  a  cheek 
bone,  which  was  merely  impish,  or  peculiarly  disconcert 
ing,  according  to  his  mood.  As  regards  the  rest  of  his 
personal  appearance  on  this  October  morning  in  Hun 
gary,  he  wore  a  sweater,  the  oldest  pair  of  trousers  in 
his  wardrobe,  and  a  straw  hat  with  the  brim  turned 
down — by  which  it  will  be  seen  there  was  a  good  deal 
of  the  old  Fessenden  left. 

Indeed  there  was  a  great  deal ;  and  as  he  rode  straight 
towards  the  gala  village  on  Count  Zrinyi's  estate,  he  was 
in  a  very  susceptible  not  to  say  sentimental  frame  of 
mind — which  was  usually  the  case  when  he  was  alone  in 
Europe.  The  fountain  of  romance  in  the  depths  of  him 
still  bubbled.  He  had  worked  it  deeply  in  the  way  of 
adventure  and  the  realizing  of  patriotic  ideals,  super 
ficially  when  he  met  an  attractive  woman.  But  life 
had  pressed  him  too  hard  for  love;  moreover,  he  was 
easily  disillusioned,  and  this  particular  ideal  increased 
in  stature  and  seemed  ever  more  impossible  of  attain- 

184 


RULERS     OF    KINGS 

ment.     He  stood  on  a  lonely  height  himself,  and  he 
wanted  a  woman  who  stood  on  one  as  lonely. 


XI 

Pessenden  stood  for  a  few  moments  at  the  window 
before  entering,  although  he  had  danced  the  Chardash 
many  times  and  was  arrayed  as  one  of  the  elect.  The 
deserted  street  of  the  village,  and  the  muffled  strains 
of  a  gypsy  band,  had  informed  him  as  he  approached 
that  it  was  a  day  of  dancing  and  feasting,  and  he  had 
despatched  a  casual  boy  to  summon  the  tallest  young 
man  of  the  village.  From  the  genial  peasant  he  had 
borrowed  a  native  costume,  and  without  the  aid  of  gold 
— for  he  carried  a  love  potion  in  his  indifferent  com 
mand  of  the  Magyar  tongue.  Another  New-Yorker 
might  have  been  daunted  by  the  white  divided  skirt, 
which  looked  like  anything  but  trousers,  and  the  white 
blouse  hanging  free  above  it,  but  not  Fessenden.  He 
would  indeed  have  preferred  the  Sunday  best  which  the 
man  had  offered  him  to  his  own  undoing,  but  had  gen 
erously  refused  it.  The  men  all  looked  very  fine  in  their 
gay  cloth  or  leathern  jackets,  embroidered,  inlaid,  their 
bright  sashes,  loose  shirts  and  flapping  trousers,  em 
broidered  with  worsted  or  silk;  but  the  women,  after 
decorating  their  lords  and  brothers,  would  appear  to  have 
had  no  time  left  to  enhance  their  own  charms,  for  they 
wore  common  cotton  frocks  and  had  made  no  attempt  at 
adornment  beyond  a  ribbon  or  a  string  of  glass  beads. 

The  room  in  which  they  danced  evidently  belonged 
to  the  rich  man  of  the  village.  It  was  of  fair  size  for  a 
peasant's  house,  and  its  prints  of  saints  and  Mary  were 
draped  with  embroidered  towels.  The  older  folk  sat 
against  the  wall,  and  some  sixty  young  people  danced  in 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

what  at  first  sight  looked  to  be  a  solid  mass.  The  Char- 
dash  was  near  its  finish,  and  the  couples  were  executing 
the  vigorous  and  intricate  figures,  even  separating  for  a 
second  and  flying  together  again,  ^thout  the  collision  of 
an  elbow  or  the  twitch  of  a  facial  muscle. 

Suddenly  Fessenden  swore  in  three  languages  and 
clutched  the  arm  of  his  host. 

"Who  is  that  girl?"  he  demanded 

"I  do  not  know  her  name.  The  Count  came  two 
hours  ago  with  two — Austrian  peasants,"  he  said,  "but 
we  doubt  —  who  wished  to  learn  the  Chardash.  We 
know  nothing  further,  except  that  they  speak  Hunga 
rian  well  and  are  virgins,  for  they  wear  their  braids 
hanging;  but  we  are  curious,  for  that  one  you  admire  is 
very  pretty  and  lively,  and  the  other  is  as  beautiful  and 
queenlike  as  a  Roumanian  peasant  —  observe  her,  my 
friend." 

The  music  had  ceased  and  the  crowd  was  melting 
towards  the  open.  The  girl  worthy  to  be  compared  to  a 
Roumanian  stood  almost  in  the  middle  of  the  room 
talking  with  pleasing  humility  to  a  young  man  who, 
even  in  his  peasant's  costume,  was  plainly  the  lord  of 
the  village.  She  wore  a  common  blue  cotton  gown  a 
size  too  small  for  her,  and  a  kerchief  pinned  so  tightly 
about  her  head  that  only  half  an  inch  of  hair  brushed 
flatly  backward  was  visible.  But  the  figure  was  magnif 
icent;  the  hands  were  small,  pointed,  white;  the  skin  of 
face  and  throat  had  never  been  exposed  to  a  peasant 
sun,  and  the  visible  hair  was  red.  The  girl  suddenly 
raised  her  eyes,  and  Fessenden  screwed  up  his  own  and 
left  the  window. 

So  he  had  seen  the  Archduchess !— was  about  to  meet 
her  at  last!  The  fountain  burst  its  bonds  and  flew  to 
his  head.  His  deep,  almost  passionate  love  of  advent- 
lire  shook  him  slightly  from  head  to  foot.  The  color 

186 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

came  into  his  face,  and  his  nostrils  quivered.  If  he  could 
only  corner  his  sister  and  warn  her  before  she  betrayed 
him  by  a  feminine  scream.  She  was  standing  just  with 
in  the  door  arranging  the  ribbon  at  the  end  of  her  long 
plait  of  hair,  which,  like  many  another,  had  been  dis 
ordered  by  the  energy  of  the  dance;  and  the  hanging 
tresses  brought  forward  for  reconstruction  by  herself 
and  several  other  maidens  may  possibly  have  fetched  a 
sigh  from  lips  too  soon  surrendered.  Fessenden  entered 
and  placed  his  back  between  her  face  and  Ranata. 

"Now  don't  even  raise  your  eyes,"  he  said  rapidly.  " I 
want  to  be  unknown  here.  I  want  you  to  introduce  me 
to  her  and  not  tell  her  who  I  am." 

Fessenden  had  underestimated  his  sister's  accomplish 
ments.  "I  won't  do  anything  of  the  sort,"  she  replied, 
smoothing  her  kerchief  with  steady  fingers.  "It  is  just 
one  thing  I  should  never  dare  to  do.  The  responsibility 
shall  be  entirely  your  own." 

"Very  well.  I  can  manage  it  if  you  do  not  betray 
me.  What  on  earth  does  this  mean,  anyhow  ?  Are 
you  and  she  here  alone?  I  don't  see  the  ghost  of  a 
chaperon." 

"Our  first  idea  was  merely  to  look  on,  but  we  had  no 
sooner  arrived  at  Count  Zrinyi's  castle  this  morning  than 
Sarolta  was  attacked  by  the  gout — or  pretended  she  was ; 
she  is  an  angel — and  ordered  us  to  our  rooms.  We  made 
Zrinyi  borrow  clothes  from  two  of  his  servants — and 
here  we  are.  I've  never  had  so  much  fun  in  my  life — 
neither  has  Ranata."  She  looked  him  over.  "You  are 
not  a  bad  imitation,"  she  admitted.  "So  many  of  them 
are  fair,  and  luckily  they  all  wear  their  hats.  Pull  your 
brim  a  little  lower;  your  eyes  are  hopelessly  American. 
Of  course  you'll  fall  in  love  with  her — I've  seen  it  com 
ing  for  years;  but  don't  propose  on  the  spot  and  spoil 
all  our  fun." 

187 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

"What  do  you  take  me  for?"  and  Fessenden  left  her 
to  an  admiring  peasant  and  sought  his  host. 

"That  girl  is  very  pretty,"  he  said  discontentedly, 
"but  I  can't  dance  with  a  girl  so  much  shorter  than  my 
self;  I  am  always  swinging  her  off  her  feet.  Will  you 
introduce  me  to  the  other  Austrian — or  Roumanian,  did 
you  say?" 

"What  is  your  name,  my  friend?" 

"Arpad  Hunyadi  will  do  as  well  as  any  other." 

The  peasant  embraced  him  on  both  cheeks.  "A  great 
name,"  he  said  solemnly.  "All  I  have  is  yours." 

A  moment  later  Fessenden  was  standing  before  the 
Archduchess,  while  Zrinyi's  willing  eyes  were  diverted 
by  Alexandra. 

"You  will  dance  this  with  me?"  he  asked  in  Magyar, 
his  eyes  bashfully  lowered. 

"You  are  not  a  Hungarian!"  she  exclaimed. 

"Alas,  that  your  first  word  should  be  so  cruel!  It  is 
true  that  I  speak  the  German  tongue  better  —  I  have 
been  much  away — but  my  children  shall  speak  only 
Hungarian." 

"It  is  to  be  hoped  so." 

"You  will  dance  with  me?" 

"I  do  not  know.     I  am  tired." 

"One  is  never  too  tired  for  the  Chardash.  It  would 
raise  a  Hungarian  from  the  grave."  This  was  uttered 
with  simple  fervor.  He  felt  her  powerful  gaze  and 
dared  not  raise  his  eyes.  But  the  majestic  beauty  of 
her  figure  was  in  the  direct  line  of  his  vision,  and  invol 
untarily  he  lifted  his  hands  to  tuck  in  his  shirt,  but  be 
thought  himself  in  time. 

"I  don't  know,"  repeated  the  Archduchess  coldly. 
"I  am  tired,  and  I  do  not  happen  to  be  a  Hungarian." 

"A  Roumanian?     We  have  all  said  it;  you  are  so 

beautiful." 

188 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

"No." 

The  leader  of  the  gypsy  band  struck  his  cymbal.  His 
brothers  drew  the  first  long  wail  from  their  fiddles.  The 
crowd  thronged  in. 

Fessenden  raised  his  hands  and  placed  them  firmly 
about  the  slender  waist  of  the  Archduchess.  "  Put  your 
hands  on  my  shoulders,"  he  said.  "I  shall  not  let  you 
go." 

She  drew  herself  up  rigidly  for  a  moment,  then  obeyed 
him. 

"I  know  who  you  are,"  she  said. 

"So  much  the  better,"  replied  Fessenden. 

"This  is  a  great  moment  in  the  history  of  Hungary!" 
said  Zrinyi  solemnly. 

"It  is!"  said  Alexandra. 

"A  daughter  of  the  Emperor  of  Austria  and  a  Hun 
garian  peasant !  What  a  symbol !  It  is  full  of  portent !" 

"If  you  only  knew  how  much!" 

"Ah,  you  dream  of  a  universal  democracy,  I  suppose. 
I  fear  I  dream  only  of  the  independence  of  Hungary — • 
with  William  as  enlightened  overlord — and  the  humilia 
tion  of  Austria." 

"I  can't  talk  politics  and  dance  the  Chardash." 

Fessenden  summoned  to  his  eyes  a  far  and  impassive 
stare.  Ranata  pointed  her  lashes  to  her  cheeks.  They 
were  the  tallest  couple  in  the  room,  and  those  who  sat 
had  much  to  say  in  comment.  There  was  little  to  criti 
cise,  for  their  natural  grace  and  beauty  of  form  diverted 
the  eye  from  their  few  mistakes;  and  in  truth  those 
whose  blood  is  quick  must  learn  the  Chardash  easily.  For 
a  time  the  music  is  a  wail  of  almost  hopeless  longing,  and 
the  feet  and  body  move  hesitatingly,  monotonously,  the 
man  and  woman  at  arm's-length ;  gradually  it  grows 
sweeter,  more  inspiring,  and  the  feet  move  faster — life 

189 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

seems  to  awaken.  The  music  swells  and  the  man  takes 
the  girl's  left  hand  and  raises  it  high;  then,  as  it  becomes 
triumphant  and  peremptory,  he  swings  her  faster  and 
faster,  executes  wild  and  rapid  figures,  stamps  his  feet, 
snaps  his  fingers  in  the  air,  increases  his  speed  to  that  of 
the  whirlwind,  flings  his  partner  from  him  and  catches 
her  again,  to  whirl  and  whirl  and  whirl  in  a  circle  scarce 
ly  larger  than  his  feet ;  and  all  without  a  moment  of  for- 
getfulness,  a  rude  embrace,  a  change  of  expression.  "It 
is  the  story  of  elementary  passion  before  man  was 
created  to  express  it,"  Ranata  had  said  to  Alexandra 
before  they  had  ventured  to  take  part;  and  certainly  the 
Hungarian  peasant,  intelligent  and  gay,  but  polite  and 
dignified  to  his  marrow,  is  worthy  of  a  place  beside  the 
impersonal  artists  of  any  civilization. 

Nevertheless,  the  Chardash  is  so  intoxicating  that  no 
one  can  dance  it  perfunctorily,  no  matter  how  self-con 
scious  at  starting;  and  there  was  nothing  here  to  distract 
the  attention  of  the  most  fastidious:  the  air  was  pure, 
for  the  windows  were  open,  and  the  Hungarian  peasant 
is  clean.  No  matter  what  the  pressure  of  the  speed,  not 
a  foot  was  trodden,  not  a  temper  shaken.  Fessenden 
had  danced  half  the  native  dances  of  the  world,  sometimes 
in  hours  of  greater  abandon  than  this,  and  Ranata  had 
a  natural  love  of  the  dance  and  indulged  it  whenever  pos 
sible.  As  she  had  recognized  and  intuitively  obeyed 
her  friend's  brother,  she  realized  in  a  flash  that  for  six 
teen  years  he  had  occupied  a  silent  but  permanent  place 
in  a  shadowy  realm  that  was  hers  alone.  He  had  been 
Alexandra's  favorite  theme  from  childhood,  and  Ra- 
nata's  interest  had  never  flagged.  His  sister  was  as 
truthful  as  most  women,  but  in  her  extreme  youth  she 
had  possessed  a  violent  imagination,  and  her  unknown 
brother,  dwelling  in  the  wilderness,  had  inspired  it  to 
deeds  which  had  caused  the  little  Archduchess  to  sit 

190 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

open-mouthed  for  hours  as  she  drank  in  his  blood-cur 
dling  and  heroic  adventures  with  Indian  tribes,  robber 
bands,  pirates,  and  wild  beasts  of  every  variety  whose 
pictures  were  to  be  found  in  Alexandra's  natural  his 
tory.  He  had  seemed  to  her  the  most  splendid  and 
picturesque  of  living  creatures,  and  although  the  reduc 
tion  of  Alexandra's  allowance  for  a  year  to  the  wages 
of  a  footman  by  her  perturbed  father  had  cured  her  of 
the  habit  of  exaggeration,  she  still  could  tell  a  pretty 
tale,  and  there  had  been  much  to  recount  during  Fessen- 
den's  sojourn  in  South  America  and  after  his  return. 
To  a  princess  living  the  most  conventional  and  restrict 
ed  of  earthly  lives  he  represented  all  that  the  world,  be 
yond  palace  walls,  held  of  romance,  of  freedom,  of  the 
grand  free  play  of  personality.  As  she  grew  older  she 
forbade  her  fancy  to  lead  him  into  the  backwaters  of 
sentiment,  that  being  a  part  of  the  necessary  discipline 
of  self;  but  there  had  been  times  when  the  effort  had 
exhausted  her.  Two  thoughts  had  flashed  through  her 
mind  as  she  realized  that  she  stood  face  to  face  with 
him  at  last:  the  one  came  from  depths  she  did  not 
pause  to  analyze — "If  I  had  suddenly  heard  that  he 
was  dead,  instead  of  meeting  him  like  this,  I  should  have 
been  appalled  by  a  sense  of  personal  loss."  The  other 
thought  flew  straight  from  superstition  and  made  her 
for  the  moment  the  sister  of  the  peasant-women  about 
her — "This  colored  frock!  I  might  have  known  it 
would  bring  me  bad  luck!" 

In  a  moment  she  had  angrily  dismissed  both  sugges 
tions,  but  she  endeavored  to  nurse  a  general  resentment. 
She  had  been  taken  abominable  advantage  of.  He  had 
known  who  she  was  and  dared  to  treat  her  like  any  or 
dinary  girl  masquerading.  That  royalty,  or  aristocracy 
for  that  matter,  moves  on  unselfconscious  heights  is  one 
of  the  fictions  of  fiction.  The  aristocracies  of  Europe 

191 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

may  not,  in  the  manner  of  the  American,  carry  their 
ancestors  like  a  bunch  of  chips  on  their  shoulder,  but, 
like  royalty,  they  are  "simple  and  unaffected"  only  so 
long  as  they  are  not  expected  to  be  humble  and  are  not 
approached  by  the  wrong  sort  of  people.  The  intense 
dramatic  moments  of  William  of  Germany  might  alone 
convince  the  unthinking  of  royalty's  sense  of  its  own 
value. 

Ranata  was  not  dramatic,  or  at  all  events  had  wanted 
opportunity ;  but  had  she  inherited  the  simplicity  of  her 
mother,  which  assuredly  she  had  not,  she  would  have 
found  it  a  difficult  task  to  forget  that  she  was  the  daugh 
ter  of  an  emperor.  But  she  had  experienced  no  such 
inclination.  She  might  sigh  for  liberty,  and  in  erratic 
moments  wish  she  had  been  born  an  American,  but  to 
her  composition  had  gone  the  haughtiest  particles  of 
Europe.  She  was  not  only  the  last  born  of  an  ancient 
line  of  kings  who  had  exercised  despotic  rule  over  vast 
possessions,  but  who  had  built  about  themselves  a  triple 
golden  wall  of  ceremony.  No  court  had  ever  been  so 
uncomplaisant,  no  royal  favor  so  difficult  to  gain;  to 
day  no  house  in  Europe  was  so  tenacious  of  its  ancient 
formalities.  Every  act  of  Ranata 's  life  to  which  the 
least  importance  could  be  attached  had  been  the  com 
bined  result  of  her  active  consciousness  that  she  was  the 
daughter  of  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  and  of  instinctive 
ancestral  tribute. 

Therefore  did  the  Archduchess  Ranata  Theresia  feel 
that  her  sacred  self  had  been  trifled  with,  and  was  filled 
with  wrath  against  her  friend  and  her  friend's  brother. 
But  it  is  both  difficult  and  anomalous  to  nurse  the 
severer  passions  while  moving  one's  body  and  feet  to 
the  cry  of  the  Chardash  for  the  fulfilment  of  human  hap 
piness.  A  mist  rose  to  and  diffused  itself  through  the 
historic  tiers  of  Ranata's  brain,  and  created  an  illusion. 

192 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

The  music  of  the  Chardash,  older  than  the  House  of 
Hapsburg,  as  old,  perhaps,  as  that  mysterious  gypsy  peo 
ple  who  brought  it  to  Hungary,  was  the  song  of  the 
wind  among  peaks  about  a  wild  and  lovely  valley  high 
in  the  Eastern  Alps.  She  was  primeval  woman  dan 
cing  with  primeval  man.  A  silver  hammer  rang  on  the 
distant  rocks,  the  wind  drew  its  bow  on  the  young 
branches  of  the  trees ;  all  the  new  world  moved  in  meas 
ure  about  her,  groping  towards  its  birthright.  The 
vague  melancholy  promise  of  Nature  grew  ever  more 
distinct  in  its  utterance,  swelled  in  fuller  volume  from 
the  heights  and  passes.  The  man  felt  it  and  swung  her 
with  swifter  assurance,  clasped  her  surrendered  waist 
more  firmly;  then  in  the  wild  and  breathless  whirl, 
where  the  male,  inspired  by  the  reckless  adhortation  of 
the  music,  expresses  the  insolent  triumph  of  his  man 
hood,  and  the  woman  alone  hears  the  persistent  note 
of  sadness,  the  warning  of  the  unfulfilment  of  mortal 
desire,  the  heroine  of  this  tale  was  the  creature  of  an 
other  will.  In  that  dizzying  circle  she  followed  his 
every  motion,  the  peremptory  guiding  of  his  hand,  with 
neither  thought  nor  desire  of  resistance;  and  when  he 
flung  her  scornfully  from  him  she  leaped  back  to  his 
embrace  as  automatically  .as  the  meanest  peasant  in  the 
room.  At  the  end  she  was  conscious  of  nothing  but 
that  the  mountain-tops  were  flying  about  her  in  a  furi 
ous  attempt  to  meet  and  crash  together;  the  shouting 
of  the  men,  the  abrupt  loud  stamping  of  their  feet,  as  the 
musicians  played  like  madmen,  came  to  her  confused 
senses  as  the  forces  of  the  earth  bursting  their  bonds; 
and  when  the  illusion  abruptly  finished  and  she  found 
herself  on  the  veranda  she  leaned  heavily  against  the 
wall  and  sought  for  nothing  but  her  breath. 

Fessenden  mopped  his  streaming  face.     "By  Jove!" 
he  remarked,  "that  was  warm  work!     But  it's  a  great 
13  193 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

dance — and  you — you — were  simply  magnificent !  When 
I  get  my  breath  I'll  tell  you  how  grateful  I  am." 

Ranata  lifted  her  head  and  assumed  an  expression  oi 
frigid  severity,  which  shone  oddly  from  a  face  that  was 
wet  and  red  from  hair  to  throat. 

' '  Would  you  like  to  walk  up  and  down  the  road  for  a 
change?"  asked  Fessenden. 

"No!"  exclaimed  Ranata,  still  short  of  breath.  "I 
should  not." 

"You  are  not  ready  for  another?" 

"No,  I  am  not  ready  for  another!"  She  spoke  with 
an  asperity  quite  unnatural  in  a  princess  who  never  for 
got  to  be  gracious,  lest  she  wound  the  amour  propre  oJ 
those  at  her  mercy.  The  tumult  within  her  had  soured 
and  fermented  into  a  sudden  hatred  of  the  colossal 
wealth,  the  constant  exercise  of  a  power  greater  than 
her  father's,  and  the  habit  of  republican  independence; 
which  enabled  this  man  to  stand  before  her  as  uncon 
cernedly  as  if  she  were  a  girl  of  his  own  class.  Hei 
wrath  might  be  unreasonable,  but  she  was  in  no  mood 
to  admit  it,  and  she  was  divided  between  a  desire  tc 
relieve  her  tension  with  tears  and  for  power  to  humiliate 
the  man. 

Fessenden,  who  was  too  hot  and  thirsty  to  be  senti 
mental,  much  less  conscious  of  outraged  royalty  that 
he  had  been  swinging  in  the  Chardash,  glanced  aboul 
longingly.  "I  think  there  must  be  wine  in  that  shed,' 
he  said.  "Where  there  is  a  crowd  after  the  Chardast 
there  usually  is  wine;  and  doubtless  the  Count  has  se1 
up  a  barrel  of  his  own.  If  you  will  wait  here  I'll  fetcl 
you  some." 

As  he  walked  away,  his  white  blouse  and  skirts  flap 
ping  in  the  breeze,  Ranata  sank  upon  a  bench.  For  the 
first  time  in  her  life  she  was  nonplussed,  at  a  loss  whal 
to  do.  Her  long  experience  with  Alexandra  did  no1 

IQ4. 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

help  her  in  the  least.  Not  only  had  she  always  regarded 
the  American  girl  as  sui  generis,  but  it  had  been  her 
royal  pleasure  that  she  should  be  so.  She  suddenly  be 
came  aware  that  her  friend  was  standing  before  her. 

"Of  course  you  are  angry,"  said  Miss  Abbott  con 
tritely.  "And  I  must  confess  at  once  that  I  knew  he 
was  here,  and  might  have  warned  you.  But  Fessenden 
is  Fessenden,  and  I  knew  that  he  would  do  what  he 
wanted  in  spite  of  me  or  any  one  else.  Would  you 
rather  go  at  once?" 

The  Archduchess  rose  with  alacrity.  "Yes,"  she  said, 
"let  us  go  as  quickly  as  possible." 


XII 

Fessenden  sat  over  his  coffee  on  the  terrace  of  his 
hotel  in  Pest,  and  stared  up  at  Buda  with  little  apprecia 
tion  of  its  evening  beauty.  The  sunset  glow  still  lin 
gered,  pushing  forward  the  dark  masses  of  the  Schwa- 
benberg,  where  brilliant  points  of  light  were  appearing 
among  the  dim  outlines  of  the  villas.  On  the  long 
ridge  above  the  Danube,  and  the  abrupt  irregular  heights 
beyond,  lights  were  darting  forth  rapidly,  and  one  wing 
of  the  palace  was  illuminated.  The  irregular  groups  and 
single  dots  of  fire  gave  the  fissures  and  cliffs,  the  ruins 
of  the  citadel  on  its  isolated  height  far  to  the  left,  and 
the  beautiful  outline  of  the  palace  a  dark  and  savage 
grandeur.  On  the  rough  side  of  the  cliff,  far  below  the 
citadel,  was  a  mass  of  lights  like  a  meteor  fallen  upon  a 
void,  so  dark  were  the  woods  and  rocks  about  the  little 
kiosk  where  men  and  women  drank  their  iced  coffee  to 
the  music  of  the  gypsies.  Along  the  ridge  on  the  right 
of  the  palace  were  the  melting  outlines  of  public  build 
ings,  of  ancient  churches,  the  arches  of  the  chapel  above 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

the  dust  of  Shekl  Giil  Baba,  which  alone  commemorates 
the  century  and  a  half  of  Turkish  occupation,  and  the 
modern  structures  which  cover  the  baths  the  Romans 
built  two  thousand  years  ago.  Down  on  the  river- 
bank,  in  the  shadow  of  the  precipitous  gardens  of  the 
palace,  the  cafe's  were  brilliantly  alight,  and  the  music 
of  cymbal  and  fiddle  floated  over  to  Pest  and  mingled 
with  the  strains  of  the  gypsy  band  in  the  hotel  behind 
Fessenden. 

On  the  long  line  of  terrace  before  the  hotels  of  Pest, 
hundreds  sat  at  little  tables  smoking  and  drinking  their 
coffee.  On  the  wide  promenade  in  front  many  more 
sauntered,  the  women  gayly  and  fashionably  dressed, 
many  of  them  beautiful,  animated  —  bewitching,  no 
doubt,  to  the  fine-looking  men  who  accompanied  them. 
Fessenden  had  a  fervent  admiration  for  the  women  of 
Hungary,  and  he  had  sat  at  this  same  table  during 
former  visits  and  observed  them  with  pleasure.  But 
to-night  his  eyes  rarely  wandered  from  the  balcony  at 
the  southeast  extremity  of  the  palace,  where  several 
figures  were  discernible,  and  the  regular  rising,  linger 
ing,  disappearing  of  what  might  have  been  the  travail 
of  a  miniature  volcano.  The  volcano,  doubtless,  was 
the  Princess  Sarolta  of  Windischgratz,  for  the  figures 
had  moved  from  time  to  time,  and  there  appeared  to  be 
no  man  among  them.  Once  the  tallest  of  the  group 
had  entered  the  room  at  the  corner  and  stood  for  a  mo 
ment  against  the  light.  Fessenden,  his  heart  beating 
faster,  had  fancied  he  recognized  the  Archduchess,  and 
had  half  risen  in  angry  determination  to  cross  the  river 
and  storm  the  hill,  but  had  thrown  himself  back  in  his 
chair  and  ordered  another  glass  of  iced  coffee. 

Nevertheless,  his  anger  did  not  cool  nor  his  determina 
tion  weaken.  It  was  now  three  days  since  he  and  Ra- 
nata  had  surrendered  themselves  to  the  wild  exhilara- 

196 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

tion  of  the  Chardash,  and  he  had  not  even  received  per 
mission  to  call  on  his  sister  in  the  palace.  Alexandra 
had  written  him  that  the  Archduchess  was  doubtless 
very  angry,  as  she  had  ignored  the  day  in  the  village  as 
completely  as  if  her  memory  had  failed  her,  and  every 
one  was  in  doubt  as  to  the  manner  in  which  they  were 
to  dance  the  Chardash  at  the  ball.  "But  the  ball  will 
take  place,"  Miss  Abbott  had  added,  "and  if  you  will 
possess  your  soul  in  patience  and  remain  here,  I  shall 
make  a  very  especial  point  of  your  coming.  She  can 
hardly  refuse.  Indeed,  she  would  know  that  if  she  did 
it  would  be  the  end  of  our  friendship.  I  refuse  to  look 
ahead  in  this  matter.  I  have  always  known  that  some 
thing  would  happen  when  you  met.  It  is  all  on  the 
knees  of  the  gods.  The  twentieth  century  is  not  the 
eighteenth  nor  yet  the  nineteenth.  For  my  part,  I 
want  to  see  history  make  itself,  and  the  past,  I  hold,  is 
merely  designed  by  the  inexorable  law  of  progress  as  a 
background  for  the  present.  There  will  be  an  American 
queen  in  Europe  yet.  I  am  glad  I  am  young — and  I 
love  you  both." 

She  had  asked  Zrinyi  and  Prince  Illehazy  to  call  upon 
him,  and  he  had  pressed  a  tailor  into  hasty  service  and 
dined  with  them  at  the  Park  Club  on  successive  evenings. 
He  knew  that  he  must  meet  the  Archduchess  before 
long,  for  both  these  nobles  had  designed  entertainments 
in  her  honor,  nor  was  it  likely  that  she  would  refuse  his 
sister's  request.  But  he  was  not  possessing  his  soul  in 
patience.  He  was  used  to  personal  activity  in  the 
levelling  of  obstacles;  moreover,  the  resentment  of  the 
Archduchess  seemed  to  him  the  most  erratic  manifesta 
tion  of  feminine  perversity  to  which  man  had  ever  been 
subjected.  If  she  choose  to  dress  herself  as  a  peasant 
and  dance  with  peasants,  what  right  had  she  to  vent  her 
anger  upon  him  for  dancing  with  her  as  respectfully  as 

197 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

the  most  courteous  among  them?  He  had  chosen  to 
ignore  her  state,  and  no  course  could  have  been  more  con 
sistent.  He  would  not  apologize,  for  he  had  done  noth 
ing  culpable;  he  was  as  entitled  to  incognito  as  herself. 
To  vent  her  wrath  on  him  for  a  situation  of  her  own 
making  was  a  caprice  so  far  unworthy  of  her  character, 
as  he  understood  it,  that  he  was  inclined  to  believe  there 
was  a  misapprehension  of  which  he  knew  nothing.  By 
which  it  will  be  seen  that  there  were  many  things  Fes- 
senden  knew  better  than  woman. 

Whether  he  was  in  love  with  the  Archduchess  of  Aus 
tria  or  not  he  was  at  no  pains  to  discover.  But  his  in 
stinct  for  adventure  was  now  on  edge — the  youth  in  him 
was  rampant ;  New  York  was  non-existent ;  his  weeks  of 
rest  in  Europe,  passed  almost  entirely  in  solitude  and 
sunshine,  had  made  his  pulses  full  and  quick;  he  was 
ready  for  anything,  and  his  will  had  never  set  itself 
more  squarely.  Here  were  all  the  high  elements  of 
romance  at  last;  moreover,  when  he  awakened  in  the 
night  and  heard  the  distant  wail  or  rush  of  the  Char- 
dash,  he  trembled  and  experienced  a  sensation  of 
being  stabbed  by  something  that  was  both  sharp  and 
sweet. 

The  attitude  of  the  Archduchess,  the  insurmountable 
barrier  she  had  raised,  but  whetted  his  determination  to 
know  her.  With  all  his  contempt  for  monarchy,  he 
was  still  too  wise  in  its  ways  to  make  the  mistake  of 
republican  approach.  He  was  unconventional,  but  he 
was  also  a  man  of  the  world ;  while  he  would  not  hesitate 
to  insist  upon  talking  with  any  sovereign  as  man  to  man, 
with  no  more  formality  than  he  would  yield  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  he  knew  that  to  walk  up 
to  a  palace  door  and  demand  admittance,  even  to  his 
sister's  apartments,  would  be  merely  to  make  an  ass  of 
himself.  Moreover,  he  had  long  since  learned  that  one 

198 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

of  the  secrets  of  man's  victory  over  life  is  never  to  court 
certain  failure. 

The  afternoon  before,  he  -had  crossed  over  to  Buda 
and  walked  all  round  the  palace.  The  great  gates  on 
the  Danube  looked  impervious  to  battering-rams.  On 
the  farther  side  of  the  court-yard  the  central  portion  of 
the  palace,  which  was  of  a  symmetrical  height  in  front, 
was  built  straight  down  to  the  street  behind  in  no  less 
than  eighteen  tiers  of  rooms.  There  were  guards  every 
where,  and  it  looked  as  impregnable  as  a  fortress.  The 
gardens  surrounded  the  front  and  south  of  the  palace. 
At  the  north  end  were  more  guards,  and  just  without 
the  great  court -yard,  easy  of  access  at  its  northern  ex 
tremity,  its  southern  gates  closed  upon  the  private  gar 
dens,  was  the  guard-house.  Connecting  the  vast  front 
of  the  palace  with  the  mass  at  the  rear  of  the  court-yard 
were  galleries  and  many  rooms.  The  private  apart 
ments  of  the  royal  family  did  not  look  upon  the  court, 
but  were  in  the  extension  beyond  it,  above  that  sacred 
portion  of  the  grounds  to  which  the  public  was  never 
admitted.  No  princess  had  ever  been  more  securely 
intrenched.  The  wild  idea  of  disguising  himself  as  a 
working-man,  and  obtaining  entrance  to  the  portion  of 
the  palace  as  yet  unfinished  within,  had  invaded  Fessen- 
den's  brain  and  been  dismissed.  In  that  huge  labyrinth 
a  man  would  be  lost  and  found  many  times  before  he 
was  escorted  to  the  guard-house. 

Fessenden,  who  liked  a  good  story,  had  read  the  ro 
mances  of  the  day  which  dealt  with  the  imaginary  mod 
ern  princess  of  the  imaginary  modern  kingdom,  thrill 
ing  scenes  of  rescue,  hair-breadth  escapes,  revolutions. 
They  had  been  in  his  mind  as  he  whimsically  examined 
the  palace,  but  they  were  no  guide  for  him,  even  had  he 
been  of  a  less  practical  turn  of  mind.  Were  there  a 
revolution  in  Budapest,  none  would  be  safer  than  the 

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RULERS    OF    KINGS 

Archduchess.  There  would  be  no  hair-breadth  rescue 
from  that  palace,  unless,  indeed,  of  himself.  There  was 
no  moat,  no  drawbridge.  The  walls  were  ever  visible 
to  more  than  guards.  He  would  meet  her  at  balls,  at 
dinners ;  a  word  alone  with  her  in  the  garden  or  a  corner 
of  a  balcony  would  seem  to  be  all  that  he  might  antici 
pate.  Nevertheless,  the  situation  was  romantic  enough 
to  keep  him  in  Budapest;  nor,  he  suspected,  was  Ra- 
nata  a  woman  who  needed  romantic  accessories;  she 
would  doubtless  have  interested  him  similarly  in  his 
father's  house  in  New  York.  She  was  evidently  a 
creature  of  many  sides,  an  infinite  number  of  ingredi 
ents  mixed  into  a  not  altogether  harmonious  whole. 
As  Fessenden  caught  himself  sentimentally  wondering 
if  she  were  the  isolated  being  of  whom  he  had  dreamed, 
and  who  like  himself  lacked  completeness,  he  remem 
bered  that  he  had  promised  Zrinyi  a  game  of  Csendes — 
the  Hungarian  poker — at  ten  o'clock;  but  as  he  strolled 
up  to  the  Nemzesi  Casino  he  vowed  anew  that  he  would 
know  the  daughter  of  the  Emperor  of  Austria  and  King 
of  Hungary  if  he  had  to  run  the  gamut  of  all  the  con 
ventions. 

XIII 

It  was  on  the  following  morning  that  the  Archduchess 
remarked  to  Miss  Abbott — they  were  walking  on  the 
third  terrace  and  paused  under  the  shade  of  a  heavy 
tree — "I  have  decided  that  the  bodice  of  my  costume 
shall  be  of  blue  velvet  instead  of  black  —  and  the 
train." 

Alexandra  being  too  dumfounded  to  reply,  Ranata 
continued,  "I  have  concluded  that  superstitions  are 
unworthy  of  any  one  who  claims  to  live  by  the  light  of 
his  reason.  Therefore  I  have  made  up  my  mind  delib- 

200 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

erately  to  violate  all  that  may  still  linger  like  weeds  in 
my  mind." 

"Blue  is  very  becoming  to  you." 

"I  think  more  so  than  any  other  color  except  perhaps 
green.  I  have  also  ordered  several  green  gowns.  I  shall 
not  interfere  with  your  pinks  and  yellows." 

"That  is  kind,  my  dear,  for  you  certainly  would  ex 
tinguish  me.  I  see  your  new  role  is  to  lack  nothing  in 
thoroughness.  Have  you  made  up  your  mind  how  the 
Chardash  is  to  be  danced?" 

"As  it  should  be  danced.  Why  not?  All  the  mani 
festations  are  on  the  part  of  the  men;  the  women  do  little 
but  keep  time." 

The  moment  was  favorable,  the  ice  of  Ranata's  three 
days'  reserve  being  broken,  but  Alexandra  hesitated  to 
introduce  the  subject  of  Fessenden.  When  Ranata 
chose  to  be  unfathomable  there  was  an  aloofness  about 
her  which  suggested  that  her  soul  was  surrounded  by 
the  watchful  ghosts  of  all  her  ancestors.  She  had  never 
looked  more  aloof  than  to-day,  despite  the  apparent 
frivolity  of  her  conversation.  She  was  standing  very 
straight,  apparently  absorbed  in  contemplation  of  the 
roofs  of  Pest,  glittering  in  fragments  through  the  leaves 
of  Buda.  In  the  deep  shade  of  the  tree  her  face  looked 
like  marble,  her  hair  like  metal.  There  had  been  no 
coolness  between  the  girls  since  the  day  of  the  festa. 
They  had  been  much  together  and  talked  on  any  other 
subject;  but  it  had  been  evident  to  Alexandra  that  a 
part  of  the  Archduchess's  mind  had  been  bent  intro- 
spectively,  and  she  had  retired  to  her  bedroom  earlier 
and  left  it  later  than  was  her  habit.  How  Fessenden 
had  impressed  her,  what  tortuous  train  of  thought  she 
had  been  following,  Alexandra  felt  it  would  be  folly  to 
guess,  for  she  knew  there  were  depths  and  ways  in  that 
mind  no  friend  would  ever  enter.  But  it  was  her  policy 

201 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

never  to  manifest  surprise,  except  at  some  lighter  er- 
raticism,  and  she  did  not  lift  an  eyebrow  when  Ranata 
turned  to  her  and  said  sweetly: 

"Do  you  think  your  brother  would  dine  with  us  to 
night?  We  were  to  have  been  forty,  but  Sarolta  tells 
me  that  Count  Abris  Teleky  is  ill." 

"I  am  sure  Fessenden  would  be  delighted." 

"Will  you  write,  or  shall  Sarolta  send  him  a  formal 
invitation?" 

"I  will  write.     Perhaps  I  had  better  go  at  once." 

"I  will  wait  for  you  here." 

"How  did  she  know  he  is  in  Pest?"  wondered  Miss 
Abbott,  as  she  ran  up  the  steps  in  the  terrace  wall. 
"And  what  is  she  up  to?" 

When  she  returned,  Ranata  was  sitting  on  the  rustic 
bench  staring  at  the  ground.  Alexandra  sat  down  be 
side  her. 

"What  do  you  think  of  Count  Zrinyi's  invitation 
to  visit  his  castle  in  the  Transylvanian  Alps  ?"  she 
asked. 

"I  should  like  to  go.  Retyezat  was  the  scene  of 
Rudolf's  first  visit  to  Transylvania — he  was  the  guest  of 
Count  Samuel  Teleky  who  took  him  to  Boldogfalva,  the 
castle  of  Baron  Kendeffy — it  is  not  far  from  Zrinyi's 
castle  —  and  they  went  into  camp  on  Lake  Zenoga. 
That  was  one  of  the  most  delightful  experiences  of  Ru 
dolf's  life!  He  hunted  the  bear  all  over  those  frozen 
peaks,  high  above  any  vegetation  except  the  Alpine 
roses.  He  used  to  thrill  me  with  his  descriptions  of 
those  terrible  rugged  mountains,  the  breathless  wait  for 
the  bear,  sometimes  terrified,  as  often  stolidly  unsus 
pecting,  and  then  the  wild  dance  of  the  Wallach  and 
Roumanian  beaters  round  the  camp-fire  at  night  to  the 
music  of  their  flutes.  Rudolf  and  all  the  others  of 'the 
party  sat  huddled  under  a  rock,  muffled  in  furs,  smoking 

202 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

the  long  Hungarian  pipe ;  but  the  wild  men  of  the  moun 
tains  were  warm  enough,  for  they  danced  like  fiends,  and 
the  effect  of  the  wild  gyrations  almost  in  the  very  midst 
of  the  leaping  flames,  the  great  teeth  of  the  rocks  cutting 
the  sky  on  every  side,  the  gathering  storm  shrieking  into 
the  sweet  wild  music  of  the  flutes,  the  infernal  cries  of 
the  excited  creatures — I  remember  Rudolf  swept  all  the 
things  off  my  most  precious  table  in  his  animation  the 
first  time  he  told  me  the  story!  Those  were  his  happi 
est  days — his  hunting  expeditions  to  Transylvania  for 
bear  and  other  game,  and  he  loved  to  talk  to  me  about 
them,  for  no  one  else  cared  to  listen — at  home,  at  least. 
Even  when  I  was  a  child  he  often  came  and  spent  an 
hour  with  me,  partly  out  of  pity  for  my  loneliness,  partly 
because  I  was  so  much  like  himself  in  many  ways,  and  in 
despair  that  I  could  not  join  in  all  his  sports.  He  prom 
ised  me  the  last  time  he  returned  from  Transylvania  that 
the  next  year  I  should  go  with  him  to  Gorgeny — the 
crown  property  where  he  always  went  after  that  first 
visit.  The  occasion  upon  which  he  won  his  oak  as  a 
Transylvanian  bear-hunter  was  almost  as  exciting  in  an 
other  way.  When  he  had  killed  his  first  bear  the  beat 
ers  tied  its  legs  together,  and  raising  it  on  crossed  poles 
carried  it  through  the  forest  to  the  stretchers,  followed 
by  all  the  Roumanians  in  their  strange  costumes  shout 
ing  Setreasca!  Setreasca!  The  guests  surrounding  Ru 
dolf  responded  with  Elyens  almost  as  wild,  and  Count 
Teleky  dipped  an  oak  twig  in  the  bear's  blood  and  pre 
sented  it  to  Rudolf,  who  stuck  it  in  his  cap.  When  he 
returned  to  the  castle  in  the  evening,  all  the  delighted 
and  shouting  people  knew  by  that  sign  that  their  prince 
had  taken  his  position  among  the  great  bear-hunters  of 
Transylvania." 

Ranata  had  been  speaking  rapidly  and  excitedly.    As 
she  finished  she  sprang  to  her  feet.     The  blood  was  in 

203 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

her  cheeks,  and  her  eyes  were  flashing  with  a  curious 
angry  animation. 

"  Do  you  think  any  man  could  ever  come  between  me 
and  the  memory  of  my  brother?"  she  demanded  passion 
ately — "between  my  duty  to  his  memory,  to  his  unfin 
ished  work?  Do  you  think  that  I  could  ever  admire,  love, 
respect  any  man  one-half  so  well  ?  What  of  his  weak 
nesses?  He  had  the  greatest  of  natures.  He  knew  that 
he  had  the  fate  of  Europe  in  his  hands,  and  he  would 
have  made  the  soberest  of  rulers.  Do  you  think  that 
any  woman  was  ever  so  fortified  as  I  against  the  common 
weakness  of  woman  ?  Rudolf! — Austria! — "  She  turned 
abruptly  and  walked  down  the  dim  path  under  the  wall. 

Alexandra  caught  her  breath.  She  felt  curiously  un 
comfortable,  as  a  sensitive  American  girl,  unskilled  in 
feeling,  always  does  at  the  sudden  revelation  of  passion 
in  another  woman.  Calmly  to  analyze  the  passions  of 
the  world,  and  stare  ironically  at  the  complications  of 
life  through  a  lorgnette,  was  all  in  the  mental  progress 
of  a  girl  brought  up  with  the  peculiar  advantages  of 
Alexandra  and  possessing  her  uncommon  acuteness; 
but  direct  contact  vaguely  offended  the  cool  purity  of 
her  lighter  nature. 

She  also  experienced  a  sensation  of  terror  which  vi 
brated  oddly  among  her  calm  and  calculating  particles. 
Should  she  write  and  tell  Fessenden  to  go  at  once?  Or 
— might  it  not  be  merely  Ranata's  imagination  that 
had  taken  fire?  Impossible  that  she  could  love  a  man 
with  whom  she  had  not  exchanged  ten  words;  who  to 
his  sister's  critical  eye  had  looked  like  anything  but  a 
god  with  his  shirt  hanging  over  his  skirts,  and  sweating 
like  any  crimson  peasant  in  the  room  —  she  had  sent 
Zrinyi  out  immediately  to  wash  his  face.  No,  she  de 
cided,  after  a  few  moments  of  hard  maidenly  thinking, 
it  was  merely  the  romantic  streak  in  that  abundant 

204 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

dreaming  nature  that  had  claimed  dominion  for  the 
moment — aggravated  no  doubt  by  much  retrospection 
and  idealizing  since;  the  occasion  and  Fessenden,  to 
Alexandra's  mind,  stood  in  need  of  at  least  three  days' 
perspective  and  created  glamour.  But  should  she  send 
away  Fessenden  and  leave  Ranata  at  peace  with  her 
dead  and  her  duties?  She  hardly  had  realized  what 
she  expected  to  result  upon  the  meeting  of  these  two. 
A  vague  and  picturesque  drama,  mixed  with  much  his 
tory,  with  a  final  prophetic  vision  of  the  two  in  New 
York,  had  whirled  through  her  head.  Passion,  suffer 
ing,  tragedy — she  had  given  them  no  thought,  well  as 
she  knew  Ranata 's  capacity  for  all.  Her  friend  had 
been  the  heroine  of  many  romances  woven  by  her  en 
ergetic  brain;  but  the  romances  had  been  creations  of 
an  exalted  and  poetic  nature,  like  unto  what  she  as 
sumed  the  gods  and  goddesses  had  compassed. 

And  Fessenden?  How  would  he  fall  in  love?  He 
usually  teased  her  and  joked  with  her;  but  his  serious 
side  and  his  achievement  had  no  more  fervent  admirer. 
He  had  never  told  her  an  anecdote  in  which  a  woman 
figured  sentimentally;  to  what  degree  women  had  the 
power  to  move  him  she  found  herself  unable  to  imagine. 
He  certainly  was  adventurous — born  to  make  and  to 
change  history;  therefore  had  she  coupled  him  with 
Ranata  in  some  great  drama  of  the  future;  but  in  looks 
and  deportment  he  was  as  little  romantic  as  any  other 
American.  She  calculated  rapidly  that  he  had  upset 
most  of  her  theories  about  him  at  least  once  a  year 
since  she  had  known  him,  and  recalled  that  she  had  fre 
quently  wondered  how  well  she  ever  should  know  him. 
She  half  rose.  Should  she  send  him  away?  She  sank 
back  with  a  laugh.  That  was  beyond  the  power  of  any 
thing  short  of  law  or  violence.  She  recalled  the  angry 
and  determined  letter  she  had  received  the  day  before. 

205 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

"He  will  come!"  she  thought.  "They  will  meet  and 
talk.  Well — it  is  all  on  the  knees  of  the  gods." 

Ranata  returned  and  sat  beside  her.  "  We  were  talk 
ing  about  visiting  your  count,"  she  said.  "I  am  sure 
you  want  to  go,  and  it  will  give  me  the  opportunity  to 
make  the  progress  I  intended  through  some  of  the  vil 
lages.  But  it  will  have  to  be  a  little  later.  I  must  start 
the  ball  here  first — make  as  deep  an  impression  as  pos 
sible  before  leaving  Budapest  even  for  a  week.  Why 
do  you  not  ask  your  brother  to  take  tea  with  you  to 
day?  I  shall  be  engaged  this  afternoon,  but  you  will 
enjoy  having  him  to  yourself.  Forgive  me  that  I  did 
not  think  of  it  before,  but  my  mind  has  been  so  full  of 
other  things — the  best  plan  of  campaign  with  the  mem 
bers  of  the  Left,  for  one.  And  tell  him  of  all  our  plans 
and  schemes.  I  should  be  glad  of  the  advice  of  one  so 
accustomed  to  the  management  of  men." 


XIV 

The  Princess  Sarolta,  apparently  absorbed  in  the 
achievements  of  the  chef  of  Kiralyi  Palota  and  the  lively 
conversation  about  her,  observed  her  imperial  charge 
and  pondered.  It  was  the  first  time  that  Ranata  had 
played  the  part  of  independent  hostess  beyond  the  limits 
of  her  small  court  and  the  few  privileged  friends,  and 
the  Princess  was  not  surprised  at  her  sudden  blossoming 
into  a  graceful,  almost  informal,  hostess,  with  a  word 
of  personal  meaning  for  each  of  her  guests  as  she  greeted 
them,  and  an  animation  at  table  which  a  keen  sense  of 
liberty  and  her  desire  for  popularity  had  finally  set  free. 
But  what  puzzled  and  faintly  alarmed  the  valiant  but 
suspicious  soul  of  the  Obersthofmeisterin  was  her  ex 
ceeding  graciousness  to  the  brother  of  her  American 

206 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

friend.  The  Archduchess  had  lifted  her  chin  coquet- 
tishly  as  he  bowed  formally  before  her,  and  then  offered 
him  her  hand  with  a  spontaneous  warmth  as  she  made 
known  her  wholly  feminine  and  unroyal  pleasure  in 
meeting  the  brother  of  her  dearest  friend.  To  the  hand 
shake  and  the  remarks  the  Princess  had  no  particular 
objection — there  was  fitness  in  both;  but  Why  the  blush 
and  the  coquetry?  Why  the  curiously  puzzled  expres 
sion  of  Mr.  Abbott,  followed  by  a  flash  of  relief  and  pleas 
ure-?  Why  the  constant  change  of  expression  as  she 
turned  from  Prince  Illehazy  who  sat  on  her  right  to  the 
American  who  sat  on  her  left  ?  The  Princess  was  abnor 
mally  acute  in  the  ways  of  her  sex,  and  with  age  she 
added  to  the  sum  of  a  knowledge  born  of  much  experi 
ence,  while  forgetting  nothing.  It  was  towards  the 
middle  of  the  dinner  that  her  alarm  faded,  and  she  re 
marked  to  herself:  "She  is  up  to  some  game  or  other. 
She  is  playing  a  part.  But  what  an  actress!  Who 
would  have  suspected — but  no,  has  she  not  always  been 
playing  the  parts  demanded  of  her  rank  ?  This  is  mere 
ly  one  of  her  own  choosing.  But  what  does  it  mean?  I 
must  find  out  before  I  sleep  to-night." 

Ranata,  to  those  who  knew  her  well,  had  never  looked 
so  beautiful.  She  wore  white,  for  her  colored  wardrobe 
had  not  yet  come,  but  the  low  bodice  of  her  gown  had 
been  trimmed  with  blue  velvet  flowers,  and  there  were 
sapphires  on  her  neck  instead  of  the  usual  pearls.  Her 
brilliant  coppery  hair  was  arranged  with  so  many  little 
sparkling  combs  that  it  looked  as  if  enmeshed  in  a  dia 
mond  net ;  and  almost  in  front  was  a  sapphire  lily.  She 
had  adjusted  her  new  manner  to  perfection;  while  los 
ing  nothing  of  the  dignity  of  the  princess,  she  was  a  girl 
delighting  in  the  levity  of  the  hour,  a  human  being  con 
scious  to  the  quick  of  unrestricted  intercourse  with  lively 
and  intelligent  minds.  She  joined  in  the  general  con- 

207 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

versation  as  far  as  was  possible ;  pleasing  and  astonishing 
her  guests  with  her  intimate  knowledge  of  Hungarian 
affairs  and  the  crisis  of  the  moment — there  is  always  a 
crisis  in  Hungary — her  subtly  expressed  sympathy,  and 
her  constant  intimate  references  to  the  mother  and 
brother  who  had  been  so  beloved  by  this  ardent  and  ap 
preciative  people.  Her  evident  devotion  to  the  memory 
of  her  brother  would  have  insured  her  popularity  had 
she  reminded  them  less  of  him,  been  less  attractive  in 
herself.  Those  within  her  range  had  no  sense  whatever 
of  being  entertained  by  royalty ;  forgot  the  awful  dinners 
they  had  sat  through  with  their  king;  were  at  exactly 
the  same  informal  ease  as  when  dining  with  each  other. 
And  yet,  so  deathless  is  the  reverence  of  the  monarchical 
born  for  majesty  and  all  begotten  of  majesty;  so  insidi 
ous  the  flattery  of  those  whose  souls  are  steeped  in  pur 
ple;  that  even  these  most  independent  of  all  monarchists 
unconsciously  swelled  with  a  fuller  enthusiasm  for  the 
beautiful  and  gracious  hostess,  inasmuch  as  she  com 
manded  homage  by  divine  right. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  dinner  Ranata  was  con 
scious  only  of  the  buoyant  atmosphere,  the  gay  content 
of  her  guests,  their  versatility  of  mind,  their  very  evi 
dent  admiration  of  herself,  the  smiling  approval  of  the 
beautiful  women  in  the  pink  flood  of  the  palm-and- 
flower-filled  gallery  where  the  table  was  spread.  It  was 
her  first  taste  of  power,  and  it  was  not  only  sweet  but 
inspiring.  Her  own  enthusiasm  waxed  high.  She  felt 
expansive,  democratic.  Her  ardent  nature  struggled 
with  its  bonds.  She  felt  a  momentary  impulse  to  tell 
them  that  she  was  happy  for  the  first  time  in  her  life, 
and  felt  as  keenly  as  they  the  common  bond  of  human 
nature. 

She  hardly  knew  when  she  began  to  feel  the  subtle 
difference  between  the  American's  homage  and  that  of 

208 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

the  great  Hungarian  magnates.  For  some  time  her 
words  with  him  were  desultory,  so  much  of  her  attention 
was  demanded  elsewhere ;  but  as  the  conversation  at  the 
long  table  coupled,  and  the  beautiful  Roumanian,  wife 
of  Count  Abris  Teleky,  who  sat  on  the  other  side  of 
Prince  Illehazy,  absorbed  more  and  more  of  his  atten 
tion,  she  found  her  own  consecutively  claimed  by  Fes- 
senden  Abbott.  She  had  been  content  with  the  apparent 
impression  her  coquetry  and  graciousness  had  made  on 
the  American,  reflecting  with  arrogance  that  there  is 
nothing  so  dense  as  the  vanity  of  man.  It  was  not 
long  before  she  was  made  aware  that  Fessenden,  if  ad 
miring,  was  not  prostrate;  that  sensible  as  he  might  be 
to  her  flattery,  his  head  was  still  cool.  But  it  was  not 
until  they  talked  without  interruption  that  she  experi 
enced  for  the  first  time  in  her  life  the  sensation  of  being 
a  mere  woman  talking  to  a  mere  man,  and  realized  in  a 
flash  that  she  had  spent  the  early  part  of  the  evening 
in  a  fool's  paradise.  Given  to  self -analysis,  she  won 
dered  at  its  fascination,  for  Fessenden's  attitude  after 
the  Chardash  had  been  intensely  irritating.  But  every 
nerve  in  her  had  been  on  edge  during  that  extraordinary 
dance;  however  he  had  comported  himself  at  its  finish 
would  doubtless  have  served  as  a  pretext  for  opening  a 
safety-valve  among  the  sensations  that  were  oppressing 
her.  To-night  she  was  filled  with  good-will  to  all  the 
world;  she  had  already  sighed  for  democracy,  and  while 
she  sighed  again  at  the  death  of  an  illusion,  it  was  doubt 
less  consistent  to  accept  pleasurably  a  momentary  sen 
sation  of  true  equality.  That  this  famous  American, 
who  was  beginning  to  appall  the  world  with  his  resource, 
was  dazzled  by  her  beauty  and  captivated  by  her  charm, 
was  apparent  to  whomsoever  chose  to  observe,  but  it  was 
the  surrender  of  man  to  his  goddess;  his  eyes  were  level, 
not  upcast  in  the  homage  of  courtier  to  princess.  His 
14  209 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

masculine  vanity  was  flattered,  no  doubt,  but  by  the 
woman,  not  by  the  daughter  of  the  Emperor  of  Austria. 

For  a  time  the  conversation  was  impersonal  enough. 
"I  hope  you  will  come  to  my  ball,"  the  Archduchess  had 
said,  and  then  added  with  a  laugh— "That  ball!  How 
often  its  plans  have  been  changed !  The  Princess  Sarolta 
thought  that  it  should  be  given  to  the  aristocracy  alone, 
but  I  have  finally  decided  that  all  the  members  of  Par 
liament  shall  be  invited,  and  all  who  have  distinguished 
themselves  in  art  and  letters.  I  am  not  very  patient. 
I  do  not  like  doing  things  by  degrees.  You  saw  Alex 
andra  this  afternoon?  I  told  her  to  take  you  into  our 
confidence." 

"It  is  a  very  great  scheme,  and  I  am  entirely  at  your 
disposal.  But  what  do  you  intend,  in  this  instance,  to 
do  about  the  wives  of  your  untitled  members?  And 
the  wives  of  your  other  distinguished  guests  who  do  not 
come  to  court  as  a  matter  of  course?" 

"Oh,  the  women  cannot  come.  They  do  not  expect 
it." 

"They  would  be  valuable  allies." 

"  It  is  quite  impossible.  The  women  of  the  aristocracy 
would  rebel — would  stay  away  from  court,  no  doubt." 

"  I  wonder.  Court  life  in  Hungary  is  very  rare.  Sure 
ly  you  are  powerful  enough  to  set  your  own  fashions." 

But  Ranata  looked  determined  and  unmoved, 
should  lose  much  and  gain  nothing.  And,  besides,  I  do 
not  wish  it.  An  empire  is  an  empire,  not  a  republic. 
If  I  opened  the  gates,  where  would  be  the  end?  I  should 
be  shaking  hands  with  eight  thousand  people  of  an  even 
ing,  like  your  poor  President." 

"You  would  find  that  rather  interesting.  Your  wild 
and  picturesque  peasants — Hungarians,  Roumanians, 
Wallachians,  Servians,  Croats,  Orthodox  Jews,  and  what 
not — would  come  pouring  in  from  their  fastnesses." 

210 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

"I  shall  go  to  them  in  their  villages.     To  hold  a  little 

court  for  them,  as  it  were,  will  be  delightful.     But  here 

it  would  be  only  to  cheapen  myself." 

"  It  would  be  a  great  victory  gained  if  you  could  bring 
the  members  of  the  Extreme  Left  to  court.  The  Em 
peror  cannot;  but  if  you  invited  their  wives,  no  doubt 
you  would  conquer  their  prejudices — the  wives  would 
see  to  that." 

"Do  you  think  I  have  given  no  thought  to  the  Kos- 
suths?  I  have  my  plan  of  campaign.  'Just  you  wait,' 
as  Alex  would  say."  She  lifted  her  eyes  and  looked 
directly  at  him;  there  was  not  even  defiance  in  their 
rays.  "It  has  also  been  decided  that  although  all  the 
magnates  and  their  families  will  come  in  the  national 
costume,  only  a  hundred  of  the  younger  will  dance  the 
Chardash.  The  older — the  men  at  least — seem  to  have 
lost  nothing  of  their  fire,  but  I  fear  apoplexy." 

"It  certainly  requires  the  wind  of  youth.  I  suppose 
I  shall  not  be  permitted  to  dance  it,"  he  added  discon 
tentedly.  "Whom  shall  you  dance  it  with?" 

She  hesitated  a  perceptible  half  moment;  then  she 
answered,  "I  shall  not  dance  it  at  all." 

He  turned  to  her  with  a  flash  in  his  eyes,  and  her  own 
dropped.  "Allow  me  to  contribute  an  idea.  Why  not 
have  it  danced  by  peasants?  Many  of  the  women  have 
beautiful  costumes,  although  they  do  not  always  wear 
them;  enough  could  be  found,  at  all  events.  Bring 
them  here — house  them  in  the  servants'  quarters  for 
two  or  three  nights.  Do  not  offer  to  pay  anything  but 
their  expenses.  Ask  them  to  come  as  a  favor.  Give 
them  a  feast  and  dance  of  their  own  afterwards.  All 
the  peasantry  of  Hungary  will  be  delighted.  Let  your 
other  guests  dance  the  Chardash  in  their  own  way  after 
wards.  You  would  then  please  everybody.  I  suppose 
no  one  has  dared  to  tell  you,  but  the  women  are  by  no 


211 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

means  enthusiastic  at  the  prospect  of  having  the  breath 
whirled  out  of  them;  and  many  are  disappointed  at  not 
being  able  to  wear  their  latest  costumes  from  Paris  and 
Vienna." 

"Ah!  That  is  the  truth,  I  suppose."  She  laughed. 
' '  The  evolution  of  a  ball !  One  would  think  this  was  the 
first  that  ever  had  been  heard  of.  But  I  like  your  idea. 
Yes — it  shall  be.  And  only  those  who  wish  shall  dance 
the  Chardash." 

"Then,"  said  Fessenden  quickly,  "you  can  dance  with 
me  afterwards.  I  have  to  wear  some  sort  of  a  costume, 
anyhow." 

She  caught  her  breath,  and  again  her  anger  rose. 

"It  is  customary,"  she  began  haughtily,  then  paused, 
at  a  loss  how  to  word  her  rebuke.  This  was  not  only  an 
American,  but  a  sovereign  in  his  way,  and  her  friend's 
brother.  She  stole  a  glance  at  him.  He  had  thrown 
back  his  head,  and  was  staring  down  at  her  with  a  glitter 
in  his  eyes  that  made  them  seem  peculiarly  contracted. 
He  looked  more  angry  than  she  felt.  She  lifted  her 
head  and  said  defiantly,  "I  shall  not  dance  at  all." 

"That  is  a  great  pity,"  said  Fessenden  coldly,  "for  I 
never  knew  any  one  to  enjoy  dancing  more."  Then,  as 
her  face  flushed  and  her  own  eyes  glittered,  he  added 
deliberately:  "I  have  no  intention  of  ignoring  an  experi 
ence  which  I  have  lain  awake  more  than  one  night  to  re 
member.  There  is  no  reason  why  the  subject  should  be 
taboo,  and  it  makes  an  absurd  and  annoying  complica 
tion.  Do  you  expect  me  to  be  eternally  on  my  guard 
lest  I  make  a  reference  to  it?" 

For  a  moment  the  Archduchess  did  not  answer.  Her 
next  words  must  decide  the  status  of  their  future  acquaint 
ance,  possibly  would  determine  whether  they  ever  met 
again  or  not.  There  was  no  mistaking  the  gauntlet  he 
had  thrown  down :  she  was  to  take  him  on  his  own  terms 

212 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

or  not  at  all.  Should  she?  Should  she?  Her  anger 
had  ebbed  in  an  unaccountable  manner.  There  was 
something  very  alluring  in  the  prospect  not  only  of  a 
new  variety  of  homage,  but  of  adventuring  farther  on 
the  path  of  liberty.  Many  changes  had  lifted  their 
heads  within  her  since  her  break  for  comparative  inde 
pendence  and  her  rapid  victory.  She  was  beginning  to 
perceive  how  fatally  easy  it  is  for  women  and  nations  to 
cross  the  border  between  liberty  and  license.  Four  days 
ago  she  had  made  an  appalling  addition  to  the  limited 
sum  of  her  experiences:  she  had  known  for  a  few  mo 
ments  the  intoxication  of  abandonment.  The  retrospect 
had  filled  her  with  an  alternate  fury  and  delight.  Wom 
an-like  she  had  vented  her  wrath  on  the  man;  and  he 
had  commanded  her  waking  thoughts  to  the  exclusion 
of  the  Austrian  dynasty.  Then,  with  the  elaborate  sub 
tlety  of  the  feminine  mind,  she  had  persuaded  herself 
that  her  duty  to  her  country  demanded  that  she  win  the 
American  from  the  man  who  menaced  the  future  in 
tegrity  of  the  Austrian  Empire ;  and,  buoyed  up  by  the 
virtue  of  her  cause,  she  had  drawn  him  into  the  circle  of 
her  influence,  having  first  analyzed  him  into  the  abstract 
condition  of  a  curiosity.  During  the  last  half-hour  she 
had  quite  forgotten  that  virtue  alone  had  summoned 
Fessenden  Abbott  to  court;  but  as  she  hesitated,  fas 
cinated,  but  doubting  the  policy  of  letting  him  eat  the 
fruits  of  victory,  the  devil,  which  sits  on  his  tail  in  a 
corner  of  every  woman's  brain,  plucked  this  virtue  from 
its  hook  and  flung  it  into  the  light. 

She  raised  her  brilliant  powerful  eyes  to  his  and  said 
sweetly :  ' '  You  have  placed  me  in  a  position  from  which 
there  are  only  two  outlets.  I  acknowledge  myself  de 
feated.  What  is  it  you  would  like  to  say  about  our 
Chardash?  I  am  quite  ready  to  discuss  it  threadbare." 

He  laughed,  but  without  annoyance,  for  she  had  ut- 
213 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

tered  the  words  "our  Chardash "  in  a  tone  that  gave  him 
a  sharp  sensation  of  delight.  "The  laurels  are  to  you," 
he  said  with  commendable  sobriety.  "It  is  my  turn  to 
acknowledge  defeat.  I  shall  never  mention  the  subject 
again  except  at  your  command." 

She  had  accomplished  her  purpose,  and  should  have 
been  satisfied.  But  she  was  filled  with  a  sudden  desire 
to  hear  all  that  he  had  left  unsaid.  What  had  he  wanted 
to  tell  her?  How  had  he  felt  for  her  that  day?  What 
did  the  memory  mean  to  him?  She  cast  about  in  her 
mind  for  the  words  that  would  express  a  delicate  and 
elusive  query,  to  lead  him  on,  while  not  committing  her 
self.  But  an  interview  with  a  Konigsegg  was  a  simple 
matter  beside  playing  with  fire  when  the  fire  was  act 
ually  between  one's  fingers;  the  hereditary  game  of  co 
quetry  was  no  guide.  Nonplussed,  but  unwilling  to 
leave  the  subject,  she  bit  her  lip  and  drew  a  long  breath. 

"What  are  you  sighing  about?"  asked  Fessenden. 

"I  am  a  woman  and  inconsistent." 

"I  know  less  about  women  than  you  do,  so  I  can't 
help  you  out — at  all  events  unless  you  tell  me  what  is 
the  matter  with  you." 

"Alexandra  is  direct,  but  she  has  a  great  deal  of  sub 
tlety!" 

"I  haven't  a  particle  of  subtlety.  I'll  give  a  direct 
answer  to  a  direct  question  from  anybody  but  a  South 
American  president  or  a  Chinaman.  What  is  it?" 

"I  don't  think  I'll  tell  you,"  said  Ranata  hurriedly. 
' '  How  I  long  to  hear  all  your  adventures  at  first  hand ! 
Even  listening  to  Alexandra,  I  have  held  my  breath. 
But  we  are  going  to  have  our  coffee  on  the  terrace." 

A  few  moments  later,  as  the  company  was  standing 
about  the  pillared  gallery  behind  the  vines,  the  Princess 
Sarolta  took  Alexandra's  arm  and  strolled  with  her  be 
yond  the  others. 

214 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

"Why  are  you  angry?"  asked  the  watchful  Obersthof- 
meisterin. 

"  Ranata  is  trying  to  make  a  fool  of  my  brother." 

' '  You  are  making  a  fool  of  Zrinyi.  Your  brother  has 
doubtless  been  made  a  fool  of  before.  I  was  afraid  that 
Ranata  was  taking  man — in  the  person  of  your  brother — 
as  seriously  as  she  has  taken  all  life  heretofore." 

Alexandra  was  on  the  alert  at  once.  "You  are  quite 
mistaken,"  she  said  indifferently.  "Ranata  has  a  very 
particular  reason  for  turning  my  brother's  head.  I  prom 
ised,  in  a  moment  of  enthusiasm,  to  help  her.  I  do  not 
know  that  that  would  hold,  but  I  am  in  a  quandary.  I 
want  Ranata  to  succeed  in  all  that  she  has  undertaken, 
but  I  do  not  want  my  brother  sacrificed." 

"At  your  age  tender  consideration  for  a  man  is  a  char 
acteristic!  It  is  one  of  the  amusing  reminiscences  of 
age.  When  you  have  learned,  my  child,  how  much 
they  can  stand  —  enfin!  I  am  relieved  that  it  is  this 
way,  for  although  I  hope  to  have  Ranata  under  my  su 
pervision  when  she  goes  through  the  inevitable,  yet  I 
shrink  from  it — and  there  is  little  I  do  shrink  from! 
She  would  suffer  quite  horribly,  because  she  must  be 
utterly  without  hope;  even  intrigue  would  be  forbidden 
her — she  has  too  much  at  stake.  But  no!  as  well  now 
as  any  time.  As  well  your  brother  as  any  man.  He  looks 
as  if  he  would  never  affiche  a  woman,  he  is  not  hot  of  head, 
he  knows  the  world — and  lives  on  the  other  side  of  it!" 

"You  are  all  wrong,  Sarolta.  Ranata  is  playing  a  game." 

"The  game  is  fire,"  replied  the  Princess  dryly. 


XV 

After  that  Fessenden  took  his  tea — he  detested  tea — 
every  day  in  the   Hungarian  house.      Sometimes   the 

215 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

entire  court  was  present,  all  conforming  to  the  English 
custom  approved  by  their  princess,  except  the  Oberst- 
hofmeisterin,  who  consumed  glass  after  glass  of  iced 
coffee,  to  the  secret  envy  of  the  rest.  Sometimes  only 
the  younger  ladies-in-waiting  were  present  besides  the 
Archduchess  and  Alexandra;  but  even  at  dinner,  to 
which  he  was  frequently  invited,  Fessenden  rarely  had 
a  word  alone  with  Ranata.  Twice  he  had  ridden  with 
the  court  to  the  summit  of  the  Schwabenberg  in  the 
early  morning,  but  he  had  been  obliged  to  content  him 
self  with  observing  the  fine  effect  of  flaming  hair  among 
the  sweeping  branches  of  the  acacia. 

If  Fessenden  had  not  long  since  come  to  the  conclu 
sion  that  it  was  a  waste  of  man's  valuable  time  to  puz 
zle  over  the  idiosyncrasies  of  any  woman,  he  would  have 
wondered  at  the  sudden  change  in  the  Archduchess's 
tactics.  She  had  dropped  coquetry  as.  abruptly  as  she 
had  assumed  it,  and  now  treated  him  with  a  sisterly 
frankness  which,  in  some  respects,  was  a  curious  imita 
tion  of  Alexandra's.  The  truth  was  that  Ranata  had 
taken  warning  from  an  angry  glint  in  her  friend's  eye, 
although  the  subject  of  Fessenden  had  been  mutually 
avoided.  Moreover,  Ranata  had  informed  herself  that 
the  American's  friendship  would  doubtless  be  as  valuable 
to  the  House  of  Hapsburg  as  his  love,  and  far  easier  for 
her  inexperienced  self  to  manage.  He  had  thrilled  her 
unaccountably  in  the  Chardash,  and  startled  and  fas 
cinated  her  later  by  his  momentary  conquest  of  her  will ; 
but  she  had  finally  taken  alarm,  and  when  he  arose  in 
her  thought  she  wrote  a  letter  to  Count  von  Konigsegg, 
or  demanded  the  company  of  her  lively  ladies-in-wait 
ing.  When  she  was  alone  in  bed  she  sternly  reviewed 
the  Hungarian  programme,  and  forced  herself  to  plan 
for  the  subjugation  of  the  Party  of  Independence.  On 
this  question  she  had  much  correspondence  with  the 

216 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

minister ;  for  she  had  received  more  than  one  veiled  com 
mand  to  let  politics  ostensibly  alone  while  exercising  the 
purely  feminine  forces  of  attraction  to  bind  all  parties 
in  a  common  loyalty  to  the  throne.  This  was  not  a 
difficult  task  for  a  beautiful  and  intelligent  princess 
within  the  circle  of  her  influence;  but  if  a  powerful 
band  of  enthusiastic  Radicals  chose  to  keep  themselves 
far  beyond  the  outer  edge  of  that  circle,  how  was  she, 
hedged  by  every  restriction,  to  cast  her  nets  about  them? 
She  did  not  regard  Fessenden's  suggestion  as  feasible — 
not  for  the  present  at  least.  If  all  else  failed,  however, 
she  finally  decided,  with  a  secret  preference  for  follow 
ing  his  advice,  that  she  would  summon  the  most  influ 
ential  women  of  the  aristocracy  in  secret  conclave,  and, 
appealing  to  their  patriotism,  ask  them  to  come  forth 
temporarily  from  their  haughty  exclusiveness  and  meet 
the  women  of  the  dangerous  element  within  the  neutral 
shades  of  the  palace.  She  had  discussed  this  plan  with 
her  mentor,  and  it  had  been  agreed  upon  as  a  last  resort. 
The  enthusiasm  and  curiosity  she  excited  among  the 
masses  were  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  most  patriotic  and 
feminine  heart.  Every  day  from  four  to  five  she  drove 
abroad,  taking  invariably  the  same  route;  crossing  the 
suspension-bridge  and  driving  out  the  wide  Andrassy  ut 
into  the  Stefenia  ut  of  the  park.  All  Pest  seemed  to 
tumble  into  the  streets  and  the  footways  of  the  bridge 
as  she  passed,  and  frequently  there  was  cheering.  Be 
loved  as  her  father  was  in  Vienna,  his  people  showed 
him  no  further  attention  in  public  than  a  perfunctory 
salute;  and  although  in  Hungary  the  masses  cheered 
him  during  his  brief  visits,  it  was  much  in  the  same  man 
ner  as  the  American  is  enthusiastic  over  any  spectacle 
that  varies  the  monotony  of  business.  But  that  the 
people  of  Budapest  were  not  only  genuinely  delighted 
with  this  flower  of  the  Hapsburgs,  but  pleased  and 

217 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

flattered  that  she  chose  to  live  among  them,  was  evident 
both  by  their  spontaneous  enthusiasm  and  its  reflection 
in  the  press.  In  all  but  the  Radical  newspapers  there 
was  a  daily  chronicle  of  her  doings,  and  gallant  com 
ment  ;  the  opposition  had  nothing  to  say  in  her  disfavor, 
and  was  evidently  unsuspicious  of  her  motive  in  desert 
ing  Vienna  for  Budapest. 

One  morning,  persuaded  by  Alexandra,  she  entered  a 
shop  for  the  first  time  in  her  life.  It  was  a  shop  in  the 
Vacri  utcza,  and  she  spent  a  delighted  half-hour  to  the 
greater  delight  of  the  sordid  soul  that  kept  it.  When 
she  left  it  she  was  mobbed  into  her  carriage  by  a  throng 
that  impeded  the  traffic.  She  passed  through  the  ordeal 
with  such  a  lack  of  condescension  in  her  good-nature 
that  even  the  women  cheered  her,  and  there  were  mur 
murs  of  "Rudolf!"  among  their  "Ely ens!"  When 
driving  past  the  waiting  crowds  in  the  street,  instead  of 
favoring  her  admirers  with  the  usual  fixed  smile  and 
stately  bow  of  bored  royalty,  she  inclined  her  head 
slowly,  including  many  in  one  salutation,  and  some 
times  smiling  in  a  manner  that  seemed  both  spontaneous 
and  personal. 

And  then,  one  other  morning,  accompanied  only  by 
the  Princess  Sarolta,  Fessenden,  and  Alexandra,  she  visit 
ed  the  Hall  of  the  Deputies,  the  Lower  House  of  the 
Diet.  The  new  Parliament  building,  that  epitome  of 
Venice  on  the  brink  of  the  Danube,  was  unfinished,  and 
both  houses  of  the  Diet  still  met  in  the  old  buildings  in 
the  "  Magnates'  Quarter."  Ranata  insisted  upon  sitting 
quietly  in  the  diplomats'  gallery  for  a  time,  and  found 
much  food  for  reflection.  The  magnates  meet  irregular 
ly;  the  Deputies  daily  while  Parliament  is  in  session,  and 
transact  the  business  of  the  nation  when  not  engaged  in 
moving  their  kings  and  pawns  a  square  further  towards 
independence.  One  finds  no  type  in  Budapest,  and 

218 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

these  were  men  of  many  types.  Few  possessed  the 
famed  Hungarian  beauty,  and  the  majority  looked  like 
energetic  business-men  whose  native  fires  were  nicely 
balanced  by  determination.  They  were  curiously  un- 
monarchical  in  appearance  and  atmosphere ;  and  the  un 
enlightened  stranger  would  have  assumed  without  ques 
tion  that  they  were  the  working  body  of  an  aggressive 
republic.  The  ministry,  striking-looking  men,  all  of  the 
Liberal  party,  sat  in  a  semicircle  below  the  desk  of  the 
President  of  the  House,  and  followed  the  proceedings 
with  evident  cynicism. 

The  President,  one  of  the  few  nobles  in  the  Lower 
House,  was  lecturing  the  Party  of  Independence  upon  the 
inconvenient  extreme  to  which  it  was  carrying  its  policy 
of  obstruction.  He  sat  aloft,  and  the  beautiful  Magyar 
language  rolled  down,  an  impassioned  yet  monotonous 
torrent.  The  constant  interruptions  from  the  Extreme 
Left  in  nowise  disturbed  it.  The  ''Young  Kossuth 
party"  acted  much  in  the  fashion  of  bad  boys  too  big 
for  the  ferrule. 

"They  need  Tom  Reed,"  muttered  Fessenden. 

"They  interest  me  very  much,"  whispered  Ranata. 
"I  have  never  seen  anything  like  them.  Do  they  rep 
resent  Hungary?" 

"That  is  what  they  are  here  for." 

"Your  House  of  Representatives — does  it  look  more 
democratic?" 

"Only  when  it  has  its  coat  off  and  its  feet  on  the  desk." 

"These  men — why  do  they  want  William?  Why  do 
"they  want  any  king?" 

"The  great  body  are  not  extremists.  They  know 
that  Hungary  is  not  ready  for  independence — neither 
internally  nor  by  her  geographical  position.  No  country 
is  surrounded  by  so  many  enemies — who  hate  her  for 
that  obstinate  individuality  which  has  survived  every 

219 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

reverse  and  threatens  to  engulf  themselves.  The  Hun 
garians  would  make  their  own  terms  with  William — and 
give  him  their  help  in  smashing  Russia." 

"  Is  this  matter  the  talk  of  Europe?"  asked  the  Arch 
duchess  sharply. 

"  Not  of  Europe,  but  of  those  who  do  the  hard  think 
ing." 

"How  could  William  smash  Russia?" 

"He  only  needs  the  money." 

"Ah!  He  promised  his  grandfather  on  the  old  Kai 
ser's  death-bed  that  he  would  maintain  friendly  rela 
tions  with  Russia.  It  is  a  matter  of  sentiment  with 
him." 

"Sentiment  evaporates,  and  promises  are  nullified, 
when  it  comes  to  a  question  of  self -protection." 

"Or  ambition!  Will  he  ever  be  able  to  get  this 
money?  The  Reichstag  will  not  vote  it,  and  the  So 
cialists  become  stronger  daily.  How  can  he  get  it?" 

"Well — he  might  raise  the  embargo  on  certain  Amer 
ican  industries,  and  as  a  return  favor  they  might  ad 
vance  him  fifty  million  dollars  or  so." 

"You  know  that  is  one  of  the  few  things  he  would  not 
dare  do.  He  cannot  afford  to  antagonize  another  party 
— he  is  as  much  of  a  politician  as  your  Roosevelt." 

"Well,  you  see,  success  in  a  great  war  would  bind  all 
parties  in  a  common  approval." 

Ranata  was  a  thorough  European  in  the  sinuousness 
of  her  methods;  but  she  recalled  the  picturesque  advice 
of  Alexandra  to  push  a  fellow-diplomat  into  a  corner  and 
tell  him  "to  speak  out  or  get  out."  She  fixed  her  dis 
concerting  eyes  on  Fessenden  and  asked  deliberately, 
"Do  you  intend  to  give  him  this  money?" 

Fessenden  was  not  to  be  nonplussed  by  methods  di 
rect  or  indirect.  His  sharp  eyes  met  the  strength  of 
her  gaze  unmoved.  "Can  you  keep  a  secret?  Yes? 

220 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

If  the  time  ever  comes  when  our  interests  seem  one,  I 
shall  let  him  have  all  the  money  he  wants." 

"That  is  the  vagueness  of  diplomacy." 

"I  have  no  immediate  intention  of  putting  my  hand 
in  my  pocket,  if  that  is  what  you  mean.  Nor  is  the 
time  ripe  for  him  to  strike." 

Ranata  drew  a  long  breath.  To  bridge  an  interval  she 
asked,  "  Is  it  true — I  mean  in  your  personal  knowledge — 
that  the  Balkan  states  would  rally  to  him  in  case  of  a 
war  with  Russia — that  they  share  the  infatuated  no 
tion  that  he  is  destined  to  be  the  savior  of  eastern  Eu 
rope — instead  of  ourselves!" 

"  I  am  as  sure  of  it  as  one  can  be  of  anything  in  Eastern 
politics." 

1 '  And  this  story  I  heard  yesterday — that  he  is  having 
his  second  son  taught  Hungarian — is  that  true?" 

"  I  heard  it  in  Berlin,  but  not  from  the  Em 
peror." 

For  a  moment  Ranata  hated  him.  Then  she  regis 
tered  a  vow  anew,  and  this  time  her  chin  seemed  to  ab 
sorb  its  firm  pink  flesh.  She  turned  to  Fessenden  pet 
tishly.  "I  hate  politics!"  she  said.  "I  shall  play  my 
part  here  quietly,  but  there  is  no  necessity  to  talk  or 
even  to  think  about  it,  except  when  I  am  obliged  to  dis 
cuss  some  point  with  Count  von  Konigsegg.  Of  course, 
if  you  have  advice  to  give  me  I  shall  be  grateful,  but  at 
other  times  please  forget  and  let  me  forget  that  I  am 
an  unhappy  princess  imagining  I  have  the  fate  of  an 
empire  on  my  shoulders." 

"  I  am  not  in  Hungary  to  talk  politics." 

Ranata  lifted  her  eyes  to  his ;  they  were  both  soft  and 
dazzling.  "Why  are  you  here?"  she  whispered  auda 
ciously. 

The  fires  in  Fessenden  flew  to  his  head  and  flashed 
from  his  eyes,  but  his  voice  if  unsteady  came  to  her  ear 

221 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

distinctly.     "If  we  are  ever  alone  for  a  moment  I  will 
tell  you  why." 

Ranata  received  her  first  electric  shock  of  passion. 
He  had  won  again  and  with  her  own  weapons.  Tu 
multuous  delight,  amazement,  anger,  rushed  through 
her  brain.  She  clinched  her  hand  in  an  attempt  at  self- 
control,  and  it  slipped  from  her  knee  and  touched  his. 
She  recovered  herself  at  once. 

"One  would  think  you  were  a  Hungarian!"  she  said 
scornfully,  oblivious  of  the  significance  of  her  failure  to 
comment  upon  the  ancient  ocean  that  rolled  between 
them.  "They  need  only  a  spark,  and  are  accustomed 
to  women  who  are  always  expectant  of  the  language  of 
love.  From  Alexandra  I  have  gathered  that  the  Ameri 
can  man  has  been  too  well  educated  by  his  women  to 
let  himself  go  until  he  is  sure  he  will  not  be  laughed  at, 
and  that  he  is  greatly  assisted  by  the  national  frigidity 
of  temperament." 

"What  you  learn  of  the  national  temperament  will 
be  from  me,  not  from  my  sister." 

Ranata  was  now  fully  alive  to  her  role.  That  her 
being  was  still  in  tumult,  her  brain  alert  with  womanly 
curiosity,  mattered  nothing;  she  would  follow  her  pro 
gramme  to  the  end.  If  that  end  were  unimaginable  for 
the  woman,  it  was  defined  enough  for  the  princess. 

"I  should  like  to  know  one  man  in  my  life,"  she  mur 
mured.  "And  you  are  an  American — the  only  one  I 
ever  could  know,  I  suppose.  I  find  the  prospect  rather 
delightful.  But  you  must  not  insist  upon  flirting  with 
me.  It  would  be  an  unfair  advantage — I  am  terribly 
unskilled." 

"I  have  not  the  slightest  intention  of  flirting  with 
you.  I  have  had  no  time  to  learn  the  a  b  c  of  flirtation. 
Nor  do  I  waste  my  time." 

"How  long  shall  you  stay  in  Hungary?" 
222 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

"I  know  less  about  that  than  you  do." 

"But  you  do  not  take  long  vacations.  Surely,  your 
enormous  interests  in  America — they  must  demand  your 
attention  before  long." 

"My  enormous  interests  can  —  take  care  of  them 
selves." 

The  blood  ran  up  to  Ranata's  hair.  For  a  second  she 
forgot  her  role.  She  tasted  the  sweets  of  woman's  pow 
er  for  the  first  time,  and  wondered  at  the  barrenness  of 
the  regal.  "Would  you  stay  here  if  your  great  fortune 
were  in  danger — if — " 

"I  should  stay  here  if  the  world  went  to  smash." 

Ranata  became  aware  that  Alexandra's  lips  were  at 
her  other  ear.  "Sarolta  is  going  to  sleep,"  whispered 
the  warning  voice.  "She  will  be  horribly  cross.  Hadn't 
we  better  go?" 

The  Archduchess  rose.  "Yes,"  she  said  indifferently. 
"It  is  quite  time.  And  we  have  promised  to  go  on  the 
floor  for  a  moment.  The  President  has  left  his  seat. 
Doubtless  he  is  coming  to  meet  us." 

A  few  moments  later  she  was  receiving  the  compli 
ments  of  the  ministers,  most  of  whom  she  had  met  while 
her  father  was  in  Budapest.  She  was  Archduchess  of 
Austria  and  Princess  of  Hungary  once  more,  touched 
with  the  happy  informality  of  her  brother.  The  mem 
bers  of  the  press  had  been  requested  to  leave  the  room. 
The  Deputies  were  standing  at  their  desks  regarding  her 
with  deep  attention,  and  she  played  to  them  quite  as 
much  as  to  the  ministers.  She  stood  just  beneath  the 
elevated  seat  of  the  President,  and  its  sombre  dignity 
made  the  proper  background  for  her  noble  height  and 
brilliant  hair.  She  wore  a  large  black  hat  and  a  gown 
of  black  velvet  whose  jacket  opened  over  the  white  soft 
ness  of  chiffons.  The  color  was  still  in  her  cheeks,  her 
eyes  sparkled,  her  short  upper  lip  curved  in  a  smile 

223 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

which  was  less  gracious  than  youthful,  and  revealed 
teeth  whose  like  from  time  immemorial  have  inspired 
man  with  longing  and  forgiveness. 

Her  eyes  wandered  several  times  to  the  benches  of  the 
Extreme  Left.  These  men  also  stood  at  their  posts. 
There  was  one  who  overtopped  his  fellows  by  a  head. 
This  head  was  shaped  like  a  cannon-ball  and  surrounded 
by  harsh  black  hair.  His  nose  was  short  and  thick,  but 
the  face  was  strongly  built  and  the  small  black  eyes 
flashed  beneath  a  permanent  frown. 

She  turned  to  the  President.  "Who  is  that  man?" 
she  asked. 

"Molndr  Lajos."  He  gave  the  names  in  the  Hunga 
rian  sequence.  "He  is  one  of  the  most  influential  and 
violent  of  the  Obstructionists,  and  gives  us  far  more 
trouble  than  the  son  of  Kossuth." 

"Present  him  to  me." 

The  great  Liberal  magnate  hesitated.  He  thought  of 
his  king  and  turned  pale.  His  eye  sought  that  of  the 
Obersthofmeisterin.  She  raised  her  brows  expressively 
and  lifted  one  shoulder.  The  President,  wondering,  for 
he  had  known  Sarolta  through  many  imperious  years, 
turned  and  walked  over  to  the  young  Radical.  For  a 
moment  it  was  apparent  that  the  disciple  of  Kossuth 
hesitated,  but  he  had  the  courtesy  of  his  race,  and  he 
hardly  could  decline  to  meet  even  an  archduchess  whose 
smiling  eyes  were  not  twenty  feet  from  his.  Moreover, 
she  was  young  and  beautiful.  He  felt  that  an  apolo 
getic  glance  at  his  colleagues  was  unnecessary,  and  a 
moment  later  he  was  bowing  stiffly  before  the  daughter 
of  the  king  he  hated. 

Ranata  began  in  the  royal  manner.  "I  found  your 
remarks  very  interesting.  Do  you  speak  often?" 

"My  painful  duty  compels  me  to,  your  Royal  High 
ness." 

224 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

"Painful?"  She  looked  at  him  with  melting  eyes. 
"Are  you  ill?  Pardon  me — you  look  very  strong." 

"You  misunderstand  me."  ("I  will  not  tag  on  your 
Royal  Highness  to  every  sentence,"  he  registered.)  "It 
is  Hungary  that  is  ill." 

"  Ah !  Of  course  I  know  that  you  must  refer  to  poli 
tics,  Ur  Molnar."  The  name  of  a  man  or  woman,  un 
expectedly  introduced,  can  be  made  the  vehicle  of  the 
subtlest  flattery,  of  a  half -timid  hint  of  deepening  inter 
est,  may  even  foreshadow  a  caress.  Ranata's  rich  voice 
uttered  the  commonplace  name,  with  its  long  vowel, 
in  a  manner  to  mount  to  the  head  of  any  man.  Wholly 
unused  to  the  effort  to  please,  she  would  have  enjoyed 
this  new  exercise  of  power  with  all  that  was  feminine 
in  her  nature,  had  the  dynasty  been  rooted  in  the  fires 
of  the  earth. 

Molnar  was  young,  he  was  barely  thirty.  He  was 
ardent  and  susceptible,  and  for  the  moment  he  was  not 
in  love.  And  although  he  hated  the  House  of  Hapsburg 
as  passionately  as  ever  his  great  master  had  done,  still 
was  he  monarchical  born ;  the  soul  that  could  hate  kings 
and  love  liberty  was  haunted  by  the  ghosts  of  ances 
tors  who  had  lived  and  died  in  reverence  of  the  Lord's 
anointed.  The  poison  was  entering  his  nostrils.  If  Ra- 
nata  had  looked  like  most  princesses  doubtless  he  would 
have  held  sternly  to  his  ideals.  But  she  was  the  most 
beautiful  woman  he  had  ever  seen,  and  her  ineffable  air 
of  breeding,  her  sweet  condescension,  and  the  changing 
expression  of  her  powerful  eyes  were  pumping  the  blood 
to  his  head.  He  made  a  final  grasp  for  his  politics  and 
his  pride. 

"It  is  your  happiness, madame,  that  you  can  afford  to 
know  nothing  about  politics." 

"Ah!  I  wonder  if  I  can?  I  have  been  much  en 
lightened  to-day.  Enough  so  to  understand  your  mean- 
is  225 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

ing.  Should  I  not  know  more?  Can  any  member  of 
my  family  afford  to  misunderstand  this  most  important 
part  of  our  Empire?  It  is  true  that  I  am  only  a  woman 
— but  at  least  I  have  some  influence  with  my  father. 
Will  you  not  advise  me?" 

"Your  Royal  Highness,"  stammered  Molnar.  "Your 
Royal —  Yes,  of  course  you  should  understand  out 
politics — would  to  Heaven  that  you  did!" 

"Whom  shall  I  ask?  I  am  in  a  position  to  hear  only 
one  side.  Ah!"  Her  face  was  radiant.  "You  will 
come  to  the  palace  and  give  us  a  little  lecture.  My  ball 
is  to-morrow  night.  We  can  arrange  then  for  an  hour 
when  you  are  not  too  busy  to  talk  to  us." 

"I  cannot  go  to  your  ball,  your  Royal  Highness — 
none  of  the  Left  will  go." 

"Not  come  to  my  ball?     Why  not?" 

"We  never  enter  the  palace." 

"But  my  ball  has  nothing  to  do  with  politics.  I  am 
not  your  sovereign.  I  have  my  father's  permission  to 
live  here  this  winter  because  my  American  friend  and  I 
are  so  tired  of  Vienna,  and  I  am  so  fascinated  by  your 
city.  I  wish  to  enjoy  Budapest,  Ur  Molnar.  Is  my 
winter  to  be  poisoned  by  party  feeling? — of  which  I 
know  too  little.  How  illogical,  and  how  ungallant! 
You  will  come  and  bring  your  colleagues  to-morrow 
night?  It  is  to  be  the  great  night  of  my  life,  and  I  am 
sure  you  will  not  spoil  it." 

"I?  Ah!"  Once  more  he  braced  himself.  "I  am 
afraid  there  will  not  be  enough  women  to  go  round,  your 
Royal  Highness,"  he  said  meaningly. 

"That  was  clever.  But" — she  spoke  very  softly — 
"wait.  I  cannot  do  everything  at  once.  I  have  an 
Obersthofmeisterin.  Remember  that  you  are  far  more 
your  own  master  than  I  am  mistress  of  my  acts." 

As  she  finally  dismissed  the  bewildered  Obstructionist, 

226 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

she  caught  Fessenden's  eye.  It  was  twinkling  with  ap 
preciation  of  a  fellow-man's  enslavement.  Ranata  saw 
in  the  twinkle  approval  of  her  manoeuvres  in  a  great 
cause,  and  responded  to  the  new  chord  of  sympathy 
with  all  a  woman's  facile  manufacture  of  subtle  under 
standings  with  unconscious  man. 

"  I  feel  somewhat  of  a  Jesuit,"  she  said  to  him  as  they 
left  the  building.  "But  it  is  success  or  failure,  and  I 
shall  not  fail." 

"  Your  tactics  are  those  of  the  man  who  wins.  And  I 
suppose  you  reason  that  men  will  fall  in  love  with  you 
anyhow — that  one  more  or  less  doesn't  matter." 

"That  is  an  idea!"  said  Ranata. 


XVI 

After  luncheon  the  two  girls,  by  Alexandra's  ma 
noeuvring,  were  alone  in  Ranata's  sitting-room.  It  was 
a  very  beautiful  room  now,  with  its  golden  walls,  its  rich 
Oriental  hangings  and  chairs.  The  windows  were  open, 
and  the  Hungarian  sunshine  flooded  it.  Ranata  sat  in 
one  of  the  deep  straight -back  chairs  so  beloved  of  royal 
ty,  Alexandra  in  a  rocking-chair  which  had  been  up 
holstered  to  match  the  rest  of  the  furniture,  yet  was  im 
pertinent  and  incongruous.  "There  is  only  one  thing 
that  will  reconcile  me  to  parting  with  you  when  you 
marry,"  the  Archduchess  had  remarked  when  it  ar 
rived;  "  I  can  have  a  bonfire  made  of  all  those  ridiculous 
chairs."  And  Alexandra  had  replied,  "I  will  convert 
you  even  to  those  before  I  die." 

To-day  neither  was  sensible  of  pleasantries.  Alexan 
dra's  face  was  flushed,  and  the  Archduchess,  although 
her  eyes  were  fixed  absently  on  Pest,  and  her  profile 
might  have  been  cut  in  stone,  was  bracing  herself  for  the 

227 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

coming  conflict.  Her  subtle  brain  cleared  and  balanced 
its  parts.  She  was  determined  to  lose  neither  her  friend 
nor  her  friend's  brother,  and  an  ill-considered  word  might 
lose  her  both.  She  needed  all  her  resources,  for  no  one 
understood  her  so  well  as  Alexandra. 

"You  know  I  never  beat  about  the  bush,"  the  dis 
concerting  American  began.  "You  would  think  me  a 
fool  if  I  pretended  any  longer  to  be  blind  to  the  fact  that 
you  are  entangling  my  brother  in  order  the  better  to 
turn  the  tables  on  the  German  Emperor.  If  he  were  any 
one  else's  brother  I  should  follow  your  course  with  pleas 
ure — I  was  as  delighted  as  amused  at  your  easy  subju 
gation  of  poor  Molnar  this  morning;  for  I  am,  up  to  a  cer 
tain  point,  heart  and  soul  with  you  in  this  great  matter 
— but  Fessenden  is  my  brother." 

"I  wish  he  were  not.  Can  you  look  at  this  mat 
ter  dispassionately  and  impersonally,  Alexandra  ?  Do 
you  believe  that  I  can  succeed  as  well  without  your 
brother?" 

' '  Possibly  not .  But  I  see  no  reason  why  any  American , 
much  less  the  most  useful  young  man  in  the  United 
States,  should  be  sacrificed  to  the  Austrian  dynasty.  If 
it  were  a  matter  concerning  your' happiness,  I  might 
hesitate,  for  I  love  you  as  well  as  I  do  Fessenden;  but 
when  patriotism  goes  into  the  balance  with  family  affec 
tion,  pride  also  casts  in  a  heavy  weight." 

"But  why  do  you  speak  so  surely  of  sacrifice?  Men 
are  always  falling  in  love  with  women,  and  always  get 
ting  over  it." 

"  I  have  thought  a  good  deal  in  the  last  few  days.  If 
Fessenden  fell  in  love  with  you,  he  would  have  a  hideous 
time  getting  over  it — if  he  ever  did." 

"  If  he  fell  in  love  with  me?  You  do  not  think  he  has, 
then?" 

"He  is  in  the  first  stage  now.  I  suppose  a  man  can 

228 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

get  over  that.  But  quite  aside  from  his  feelings,  I  don't 
wish  to  see  him  made  a  fool  of." 

"I  have  no  desire  to  make  a  fool  of  him." 

"I  should  like  to  know  what  you  call  it.  Do  not  let 
us  quibble.  If  you  cannot  love  my  brother  send  him 
away." 

"How  would  it  help  the  matter  if  I  did  love  your 
brother?  I  hope  you  do  not  wish  me  any  such  unhappy 
fate  as  that." 

"I  wish  only  for  your  happiness.  You  know  that 
from  my  point  of  view  the  impossible  is  always  possible. 
And  it  is  not  altogether  the  American  point  of  view. 
Heaven  knows  the  Hapsburgs  have  adopted  it  more  than 
once.  I  hear  that  another  of  your  illustrious  cousins  is 
about  to  renounce  his  rights  of  possible  succession,  and 
his  titles,  in  order  to  marry  an  actress — or  is  it  a  girl  in  a 
chocolate  shop?" 

"They  are  insignificant — they  lose  nothing  but  their 
titles  and  their  position  at  court,  for  which  presumably 
they  care  nothing.  And  you  know  my  sorrow  and  dis 
gust  at  all  such  poverty  of  self-respect  and  sense  of  duty. 
We  need  not  go  over  that  old  ground  again.  You  know 
that  with  me  it  would  always  be  my  house  first.  I 
should  never  consider  myself  for  a  moment." 

"Then  send  my  brother  away.  He  was  an  after 
thought.  You  had  made  all  your  plans  to  succeed 
without  him." 

"I  am  convinced  that  when  William  has  made  his 
Germany  as  strong  and  prosperous — when  he  has  ful 
filled  that  first  ideal  of  his  reign- — and  when  my  father  is 
dead — he  means  to  make  war  on  Russia,  and  that  your 
brother  means  to  furnish  the  enormous  sum  necessary. 
And  if  William  conquered  Russia —  '  she  waved  her 
hands  expressively. 

"  It  is  by  no  means  certain  that  William  will  conquer 

229 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

Russia.  It  is  a  large  order.  The  rest  of  Europe,  to  say 
nothing  of  England,  would  have  something  to  say  about 
it." 

4 'With  the  best  part  of  Austria  and  all  of  Hungary 
at  his  back  he  could  snap  his  fingers  at  the  rest  of  Eu 
rope.  Without  the  interference  of  Russia  in  1849,  Hun 
gary  would  be  a  free  state  to-day,  and  she  only  waits  for 
her  chance  of  revenge.  Who  knows  what  agencies  are 
at  work  to  give  reality  to  the  Pan-Germanic  movement 
the  moment  my  father  dies?  Bohemia  might  sympa 
thize  with  Russia,  but  what  could  she  do,  hemmed  in  as 
she  is?  Besides,  the  Slavs  outside  of  Russia  have  little 
desire  to  put  themselves  under  the  heel  of  the  heaviest 
tyranny  in  Europe.  Most  of  them  would  prefer  annex 
ation  with  Germany,  if  only  because  the  German  Em 
peror  has  learned  the  secret  of  prosperity.  If  he  tempted 
them  with  that  inducement,  you  may  be  sure  that  only 
a  Pole  would  hesitate  and  stand  out  for  complete  inde 
pendence.  All  this  enthusiasm  here  for  William  in  Hun 
gary  is  genuine  enough,  no  doubt,  but  Budapest  is  as 
active  and  ambitious  as  Berlin,  and  a  ruler  who  could  and 
would  make  Hungary  as  rich  and  as  successful,  indus 
trially  and  commercially,  as  she  should  be  with  her  re 
sources  and  her  enterprise,  would  be  quite  as  acceptable 
if  he  were  less  fascinating.  And  I  will  confess  that  I 
am  superstitious  about  William.  I  never  raise  my  eyes 
to  the  heavens  at  night  that  I  do  not  fancy  I  see  his  star 
laughing  at  me.  Indomitable  ambition  has  united  Eu 
rope  before.  There  is  no  sufficient  reason  why  it  should 
not  happen  again.  Before  every  great  change  of  the 
world's  map  wiseacres  have  shrugged  their  shoulders  at 
the  impossible,  and  the  barriers  have  been  solemnly 
pronounced  impregnable.  How  easy  it  all  seems  when 
one  looks  back  upon  it.  And  with  your  brother — per 
haps  the  United  States— as  his  ally— great  Heaven!  If 

230 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

I  were  William  I  should  sleep  serenely  enough,  in  spite 
of  all  the  antagonistic  forces  in  Germany  itself.  And 
he  grows  in  tact.  He  has  the  brain  to  learn  his  lessons." 

"And  it  is  your  purpose  to  reduce  Fessenden  to  such 
a  state  of  idiocy  that  he  would  give  you  his  pledge  to  let 
William  take  care  of  himself?  Suppose  he  had  already 
given  his  word  to  the  Emperor  of  Germany  ?  Have  you 
not  seen  enough  of  him  to  know  that  he  is  a  man  who 
under  no  possible  circumstances  would  break  his  word?" 

' '  I  have  seen  enough  to  know  that  he  is  a  man  who 
would  give  the  one  woman  the  world  if  she  asked  for  it. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  break  promises.  There  can  be  mis 
understandings,  quarrels,  which  leave  men  mutually  free 
of  one  another." 

Alexandra  drew  her  breath  in  and  her  brows  together. 
She  had  hardly  expected  such  frankness,  well  as  she  knew 
the  methods  of  diplomacy.  But  she  answered  readily: 
"A  man  does  not  sacrifice  his  honor  and  his  friendship, 
and  place  the  world  at  the  feet  of  the  adored  object  with 
no  hope  of  reward.  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  pur 
pose  to  dazzle  my  brother  with  the  hope  of  ultimate 
success?" 

"No;  it  will  not  be  long  before  we  understand  each 
other  too  completely  for  that!" 

"What  do  you  mean?" 

A  deep  blush  suffused  Ranata's  face,  and  she  stood  up 
suddenly.  "I  believe  I  shall  love  your  brother,"  she 
said  distinctly.  "I  believe  it  is  my  destiny  as  surely 
as  it  is  that  I  was  born  to  be  useful  to  my  house.  I 
have  never  seen  another  man  who  has  touched — has  in 
terested  me  at  all.  There  has  never  been  any  hope  in  my 
heart  that  I  should  not  love  sooner  or  later — perhaps  no 
wish.  Would  you  take  this  from  me — from  him?  Can 
not  you  understand  what  a  great  love  may  mean  to 
natures  like  mine  and  your  brother's — that  the  earthly 

231 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

consummation  of  love  has  nothing  to  do  with  its  im 
mortal  part?  Your  brother  did  not  receive  your  letter 
asking  him  to  come  here.  We  met  by  the  merest  acci 
dent — apparently!  —  and  he  interested  me  quite  inde 
pendently  of  my  ambitions,  my  purpose.  If  ambition 
and  purpose  had  never  been  born  I  should  implore  you 
as  I  do  now  to  let  him  remain  near  me  as  long  as  possi 
ble.  I  shall  not  relax  in  my  determination  to  win  him 
from  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  but  there  is  so  much  in 
my  soul  to  give!  I  shall  give  it  to  him — and  I  believe 
he  will  be  satisfied." 

Alexandra,  who  had  been  repelled  by  the  half  revela 
tion  of  purely  human  passion,  thrilled  at  the  vision  of 
poetic  and  spiritual  love  high  on  the  snowy  peaks  of 
Imagination.  Ranata  looked  too  exalted  to  kiss,  but 
the  American  girl  was  delighted  to  find  the  infrequent 
tears  in  her  own  eyes.  In  a  moment,  however,  her  prac 
tical  brain  replied: 

"I  don't  believe  Fessenden  is  very  sentimental.  You 
will  have  to  educate  him." 

"He  needs  less  education  than  you  think." 

"Of  course  you  have  already  begun  to  idealize  him. 
He  is  accustomed  to  get  what  he  wants.  He  loves  ob 
stacles — and  he  always  surmounts  them." 

"I  shall  give  him  what  he  wants." 

Alexandra  considered.  She  had  little  regard  for  the 
ultimate  wants  of  men,  had,  indeed,  given  them  slight 
consideration.  But  she  knew  that  man  was  extremely 
prosaic  on  the  subject  of  matrimony,  and  she  was  al 
lured  by  the  prospect  of  beholding  her  brother,  puri 
fied  of  earthly  gross,  standing  alone  on  a  lofty  peak, 
wrapped  in  the  chastity  of  spiritual  love.  She  shivered 
slightly,  and  Fessenden,  somehow,  seemed  to  slip  out 
of  the  picture;  but  it  pleased  her  nevertheless,  and  it 
was  not  unlike  her  own  cool  and  romantic  visions  of 

232 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

Ranata's  future.  Besides,  it  was  not  necessarily  final. 
There  was  always  the  possibility  that  Fessenden,  if  in 
duced  to  climb  his  peak,  would  stay  on  it  only  long 
enough  to  create  a  scheme  for  the  further  and  final  sub 
jugation  of  Ranata.  She  answered  after  a  moment's 
thinking — 

' '  You  have  put  such  an  entirely  different  complexion 
on  it !  I  should  be  a  fiend  to  betray  you.  William  and 
Fessenden  both  know  how  to  take  care  of  themselves. 
I'm  frightfully  interested,  old  girl,  and  I'll  never  turn  a 
hair  again." 

When  Ranata  was  alone  she  sat  straight  in  her  chair 
and  stared  hard  at  the  floor.  ' '  How  much  of  that  did 
I  mean?"  she  said  finally  and  aloud.  "How  much!  I 
wish  to  God  I  knew!" 

XVII 

Immediately  after  tea  the  Archduchess  rose  to  leave 
the  Hungarian  house,  saying  that  she  had  letters  to 
write,  neglected  in  the  morning.  She  had  included  all 
in  the  slight  explanation,  but  as  she  passed  Fessenden 
she  raised  her  eyes  irresistibly.  He  was  looking  as 
haughty  and  distant  as  she  was  attempting  to  feel. 
Again  their  positions  were  subtly  reversed. 

"Would  you  like  to  see  my  new  rooms?"  she  asked 
hurriedly.  "I  think  them  very  charming.  Perhaps 
you  will  come  up  with  Alexandra — in  an  hour?" 

When  she  had  gone  Fessenden  turned  to  his  sister. 
"Wouldn't  you  like  to  walk  about  the  garden?"  he 
asked.  "You  do  not  take  half  as  much  exercise  as 
you  should." 

They  did  not  walk  far.  As  soon  as  they  reached  a 
rustic  seat  out  of  sight  of  the  others,  and  Fessenden  had 
made  sure  there  were  no  lurking  places  for  eavesdrop - 

233 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

pers,  they  sat  down,  and  he  began  at  once,  as  if  pursuing 
aloud  the  current  of  his  thoughts — 

"The  great  uncle,  Frederick  William  IV.,  of  the  Em 
peror  of  Germany  was  mad,  and  there  has  been  no  sug 
gestion  of  insanity  in  the  family  since.  That  disproves 
not  only  the  alternate  generation  theory,  but  that  in 
sanity  is  necessarily  persistent." 

"What  on  earth  are  you  driving  at?" 

"A  good  many  things  have  kept  me  awake  at  night 
lately,  and  one  of  them  is  the  uncomfortable  number  of 
lunatics  in  the  royal  and  ducal  families  of  Bavaria."  He 
added  deliberately:  "I  mean  that  the  late  Empress,  and 
her  cousins,  Ludvig  II.  and  the  present  Otto,  seem  to 
hover  ever  behind  the  Archduchess  Ranata,  three  black 
and  stalking  ghosts." 

"I  thought  you  knew  your  Europe." 

"I  have  no  time  to  waste  in  analyzing  court  gossip. 
But  do  you  mean  to  say  that  these  three  were  not  mad?" 

"Elizabeth  was  no  more  mad  than  I  am,  and  the  other 
two  lost  their  minds  through  specific  causes.  If  I  don't 
know  anything  else,  I  know  the  facts  about  every  royalty 
in  Europe;  I  have  been  brought  up  on  them." 

"Well,  explain,"  said  Fessenden  impatiently.  "And 
don't  let  your  loyalty  and  your  imagination  run  away 
with  you." 

' '  You  must  have  learned  that  the  commonplace  world 
always  revenges  itself  on  an  unusual  character  by  be 
lieving  it  mad.  Doubtless  you  have  been  called  mad 
yourself.  It  is  only  recently  that  people  have  resigned 
themselves  to  the  sanity  of  the  German  Emperor.  Eliza 
beth  hated  the  footlights  as  much  as  he  loves  them, 
and  publicity  has  readjusted  him  to  the  common  esti 
mate.  The  ever-increasing  seclusion  of  her  life  deep 
ened  the  mystery  and  the  gossip,  and  both  confirmed 
those  who  were  not  in  a  position  to  learn  the  truth,  in 

234 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

the  belief  that  an  empress  who  spurned  a  throne  must 
necessarily  have  lost  her  wits.  At  the  other  extreme 
are  psychic  enthusiasts — over  here  in  Europe — who  al 
ready  have  begun  The  Legend  of  Elizabeth.  A  legend 
of  some  sort  was  inevitable,  for  she  was  royal,  beautiful, 
unhappy,  mysterious,  and  died  a  violent  death.  These 
enthusiasts  knew  as  little  of  her  personally  as  the  world 
in  general,  but  their  imaginations  are  of  finer  fibre,  and 
there  was  much  in  this  lovely  and  romantic  figure  to 
appeal  to  them.  No  doubt,  a  hundred  years  from  now 
Elizabeth  will  be  one  of  the  most  irresistible  figures  of 
the  past  to  the  poet  and  the  romancer,  for  the  legend 
that  the  members  of  this  cult  have  set  on  foot  will  grow 
and  strengthen  daily.  Their  belief  is  that  she  was  one 
of  those  rare  beings  who  are  too  exalted  for  human  con 
tact,  and  that  the  development  of  her  natural  superior 
ity  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  the  psychic  history 
of  mortals.  Profoundly  imbued,  according  to  them, 
with  the  doctrine  that  a  man  should  develop  his  person 
ality  at  the  expense  of  every  duty,  every  affection,  of 
kin  or  subject,  she  withdrew  herself  more  and  more,  not 
only  from  the  world,  but  from  her  husband  and  children, 
that  she  might  devote  her  thoughts  only  to  what  was 
beautiful,  live  the  inner  life  alone,  and  develop  her  per 
sonality  in  a  manner  possible  to  most  people  only  after 
they  have  cast  off  the  flesh;  that  her  sensitiveness  in 
time  became  so  great  that  contact  with  common  mor 
tals  was  unbearable.  That  is  the  legend,  and,  mark  my 
words,  before  a  century  has  passed  she  will  be  painted 
with  a  halo  about  her  head.  It  will  be  only  the  glamour 
of  royalty,  but  the  world  will  never  suspect  that. 

"This  is  the  truth  of  the  matter — like  all  truth,  to  be 
found  midway  between  two  extremes  of  belief:  Eliza 
beth  was  a  simple  creature,  bright,  sweet,  lovely,  but, 
although  highly  accomplished,  moderately  gifted  in  the 

235 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

matter  of  intellect  and  strength  of  character.  Nature 
never  intended  her  to  mount  a  throne.  She  should  have 
married  for  love  a  man  who  would  have  been  faithful 
to  her,  and  lived  a  life  without  the  ostentation  and  pub 
lic  duties  she  hated,  a  life  that  would  have  been  filled 
with  all  the  refined  pleasures.  Instead  of  that  the  poor 
child  was  suddenly  shot  from  her  simple  country  home, 
where  hardly  a  whisper  of  the  world  and  its  ways  had 
reached  her,  up  to  the  most  formal  and  exacting  throne 
in  Europe.  Here  she  was  not  only  tormented  by  her 
mother-in-law,  but  by  the  rapidly  waning  love  of  her 
husband,  to  whom  at  that  time  she  was  much  attached. 
She  was  too  young  and  too  undisciplined  to  accept  her 
fate  with  philosophy;  nor  did  she  ever  develop  the 
strength  of  intellect  and  character  which  enables  a  dis 
appointed  woman  to  conquer  life.  Life  conquered  her, 
poor  thing;  as  a  queen  and  a  woman  she  was  a  failure. 
First,  while  she  was  very  young,  she  ran  away  and 
sulked  for  several  years.  She  returned,  but  only  to  ab 
sent  herself  more  and  more  from  a  life  which  she  de 
tested  increasingly.  It  is  quite  true  that  she  loved  the 
beautiful  things  of  this  world — art,  music,  literature — 
above  all,  nature.  In  many  ways  she  was  an  exquisite 
creature,  and  in  these  congenial  resources  she  found 
much  compensation  for  the  constant  unhappiness  and 
the  terrible  tragedies  of  her  life.  Every  person  of  re 
fined  tastes  cares  less  and  less  for  the  world  as  he  grows 
older.  When  the  most  excruciating  disappointments 
crown  this  natural  tendency,  and  there  is  not  ambition 
to  dominate  experience,  then  most  men  and  women  of 
Elizabeth's  age  live  much  the  same  sort  of  life  that  she 
did;  and  the  world  knows  too  little  about  them  to  call 
them  either  mad  or  psychic  phenomena.  So  much  for 
Elizabeth — and  let  no  one  grudge  her  success  in  legend 
as  a  compensation  for  the  failure  of  her  life. 

236 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

"As  to  Ludvig— " 

"A  moment,"  interrupted  Fessenden,  "what  of  Ru 
dolf?" 

"Rudolf  had  suffered  frightfully  from  headaches  for 
several  months  before  he  died,  brought  on  by  the  dissipa 
tions  into  which  he  plunged  to  drown  the  miseries  of 
his  life.  He  was  one  of  the  most  rarely  gifted  of  the 
Hapsburgs,  from  the  first  Rudolf  down;  he  had  no  re 
sponsibilities  to  occupy  his  brilliant  and  restless  mind; 
he  had  a  great  weakness  for  women,  and  they  pursued 
him;  his  domestic  life  was  wretched;  he  sought  oblivion 
in  every  possible  way,  and  the  autopsy  proved  that  he 
had  unhinged  his  brain.  He  undoubtedly  killed  himself 
in  a  wild  moment  of  intolerable  ennui  and  disgust.  That 
Marie  Vetsera  was  present  adds  little  to  the  significance 
of  his  death.  It  might  as  well  have  been  any  other 
woman,  and  Rudolf  was  incapable  of  the  pathos  of  a 
romantic  suicide.  As  to  his  insanity,  it  was  not  con 
genital;  and  there  was  no  sign  of  it  before  he  gave  him 
self  up  to  his  last  dissipations. 

"Ludvig  was  born  with  no  other  screw  loose  than  an 
inordinate  admiration  of  himself  and  the  actor's  dispo 
sition  to  startle  the  world  from  the  centre  of  the  stage. 
All  little  kings — and  some  big  ones — have  a  dispropor 
tionate  idea  of  their  own  importance ;  and  to  realize  the 
extreme  point  to  which  Ludvig,  after  his  brain  became 
clouded,  carried  this  not  unnatural  delusion,  you  have 
only  to  visit  his  castle  of  Neu-Schwanstein  and  look  at  the 
throne  room.  It  was  not  even  built  before  Bavaria  be 
came  a  mere  state  of  the  German  Empire,  and  yet  it  has 
the  proportions  and  the  splendor  suitable  for  one  of  the 
three  or  four  great  monarchs  of  the  earth.  And  this, 
not  in  his  capital,  but  in  one  of  his  many  castles!  But 
Ludvig's  passion  for  beauty,  his  patronage  of  Wagner, 
and  the  splendid  monuments  he  has  raised  in  Bavaria 

237 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

to  his  own  artistic  genius,  make  him  quite  worthy  of  the 
inevitable  legend.  If  you  will  look  at  his  photographs, 
even  those  taken  after  he  became  gross  and  had  suffered 
from  many  attacks  of  insanity,  you  will  see  that  his  eyes 
were  always  the  eyes  of  the  idealist.  It  was  to  this  very 
idealism  that  he  owed  his  insanity.  Above  all  others 
was  the  monastic  ideal  of  chastity,  but  he  did  not  have 
the  self-denial  to  live  on  monastic  fare;  and  he  was  a 
king,  and  there  was  everything  in  his  life  to  give  his 
brain  and  imagination  a  preternatural  activity.  The 
consequence  was  periodical  attacks  of  insanity,  and  the 
accentuation  of  his  original  peculiarities;  towards  the 
end,  no  doubt,  he  was  vicious  enough.  The  same  thing 
might  happen  to  any  American,  although,  of  course, 
centuries  of  interbreeding  render  the  brain  more  sus 
ceptible  to  abnormal  conditions.  So  much  for  Ludvig 
von  Bayern,  who  in  his  youth  was  beautiful  enough  to 
demand  from  the  very  canvas  absolution  for  all  his 
vanities.  As  for  poor  Otto — recall  all  you  know  of  the 
Due  de  Reichstadt — I  mean  the  young  man  of  history, 
not  of  fiction." 

Fessenden  rose  and  thrust  his  hands  into  his  pockets, 
staring  at  the  ground.  In  a  moment  he  raised  his  head 
and  made  the  motion  of  flinging  a  load  from  his  shoulders. 

"Is  that  all  that  has  worried  you?"  asked  Alexandra 
curiously. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  "that  is  all." 


XVIII 

A  few  moments  later  a  lackey  informed  them  that  her 
Royal  Highness  had  finished  her  letters,  and  they  went 
up  to  the  private  apartments  of  the  Archduchess.  She 
received  them  in  the  writing-room,  the  first  of  the  suite, 

238 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

whose  windows  looked  down  upon  Pest  only.  It  had 
been  panelled  and  hung  with  blue  brocade,  almost  as 
bright  as  the  cornflower,  and  the  furniture  and  wood 
work  were  white  and  silver.  It  was  handsome  and 
stately  and  stiff. 

Fessenden  wandered  about  for  a  time  looking  at  the 
miniatures;  the  Archduchess,  apparently  in  her  most 
gracious  mood,  and  somewhat  amused  withal,  moving 
beside  him  and  giving  him  little  biographical  notes. 
There  was  one  of  Maria  Theresia  before  the  flesh  rolled 
out,  and  the  face  and  poise  of  head  were  full  of  young 
pride  and  indomitable  will;  but  this  artist,  like  his  fel 
lows,  had  failed  to  demonstrate  the  beauty  with  which 
the  historian  accredits  her.  Several  of  the  men  and 
women  had  the  terrible  Hapsburg  mouth,  but  their  eyes 
were  genial,  and  they  looked  like  kindly  simple  folk. 
Most  of  the  Bavarians  had  some  degree  of  beauty,  al 
though  the  young  women  all  wore  that  meekness  of 
expression  which  would  seem  to  be  the  pertainment  of 
the  inconspicuous  females  of  reigning  houses.  The 
lovely  face  of  Elizabeth,  with  its  strange  and  disconcert 
ing  shadow  of  perpetual  girlhood,  looked  from  several  of 
the  bits  of  porcelain  and  ivory.  There  were  two  of  Ra- 
nata  herself,  one  in  haughty  profile,  the  other  with  eyes 
cast  down,  but,  by  cunning  art,  suggesting  a  swift  up 
lifting  of  lash  and  a  blaze  beneath.  The  bosom  also 
looked  about  to  heave,  the  throat  to  swell.  The  artist 
evidently  had  caught  her  in  some  mood  of  self -repression 
and  penetrated  the  mask  she  wore  so  well.  Fessenden 
studied  it  for  a  moment  in  silence,  then  turned  and 
looked  at  her  sharply.  Again  the  subtle  delight  of  be 
ing  understood  stirred  in  Ranata,  who  had  yet  to  learn 
that  the  truly  masculine  man  never  understands  a 
woman,  and  has  only  a  fleeting  desire  to  do  so  when 
anxious  or  uncomfortable.  She  colored  slightly  and 

239 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

turned  her  head  away.  Its  movement  happened  to 
be  in  the  direction  of  the  door  leading  into  the  sitting- 
room.  Fessenden's  eyes  followed  hers,  and  he  gave  an 
exclamation  of  rapture. 

"Do  I  see  a  rocking-chair?"  he  exclaimed — "a  rock 
ing-chair?" 

Ranata  experienced  the  first  pang  of  her  new  condi 
tion;  but  deep  among  the  complexities  of  her  woman 
hood  was  that  indulgence  for  man  which  carries  so 
many  of  her  sex  through  the  shoals  of  amazement,  dis 
appointment,  and  weariness,  into  the  calm  waters  of 
philosophy.  To  this  instinct,  as  much  as  to  pride, 
might  be  attributed  her  ready  words  and  hospitable  smile. 

' '  I  suppose  it  is  many  weeks  now  since  you  have  seen 
one — unless  you  have  happened  to  notice  Sarolta's? 
This  is  Alexandra's  most  cherished  possession,  but  I  am 
sure  she  will  lend  it  to  you  for  a  few  moments." 

"Yes,  indeed,"  quoth  Alexandra.  "I  will  write  a 
note  here,  if  I  may." 

Fessenden  started  for  the  rocking-chair,  but  branched 
abruptly  to  the  window.  "Ah!"  he  exclaimed,  "it  is 
finer  from  here  than  from  the  garden — there  are  too 
many  trees  there.  The  Margarenthen-Insel  looks  as 
frivolous  and  unhistoried  as  any  pleasure  island  in 
America,  and  that  downward  sweep  of  the  mountain  is 
very  like  the  Adirondacks." 

"Are  Americans  disappointed  when  they  find  the  in 
comparable  in  Europe?"  demanded  the  Archduchess 
dryly.  "I  asked  a  lady  of  one  of  your  Embassies  once 
how  she  liked  Vienna,  and  she  said  she  liked  it  very 
much,  but  she  did  so  miss  her  back-yard." 

Fessenden  laughed  heartily.  "Doubtless  her  hus 
band's  post  was  a  Christmas  present  from  an  apprecia 
tive  President.  You  know  something  of  our  politics, 
so  I  need  not  explain." 

24.O 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

It  might  be  said  of  Ranata  that  she  paraphrased  a 
famous  saying  of  Mark  Twain's  and  had  adopted  the 
version  as  her  safeguard:  "When  in  doubt  talk  politics." 
She  stood  beside  Fessenden  and  regarded  him  with  con 
templative  admiration.  "You  have  done  so  much," 
she  said,  as  if  considering.  "Why  do  not  you  give  your 
country  a  new  code  of  political  morals?" 

"The  pigeon-holes  of  my  country  are  stuffed  with 
codes  of  regeneration.  The  United  States  must  dree  its 
weird,  and  suffer  the  penalty  of  springing  full  grown 
from  the  brain  of  the  old  civilization.  Several  things 
may  happen,  however,  before  she  is  many  years  older: 
a  revolution,  which  will  let  out  the  bad  blood  and  bring 
what  best  elements  are  left  to  the  surface;  a  collapse  of 
our  worst  institutions  through  sheer  rottenness ;  or  a  sud 
den  awakening  of  the  public  conscience.  That  may  hap 
pen  at  any  moment,  for  all  our  history  has  proved  that 
you  can  try  an  American  so  far  and  no  farther.  The 
sensationalism  of  the  press  has  accustomed  them  to  al 
most  anything,  from  daily  lynchings  to  the  unblushing 
politics  of  their  Presidents;  but  there  is  always  the  last 
straw,  and  I  await  the  falling  of  that  straw  with  consid 
erable  hope.  I  no  longer  remonstrate;  on  the  contrary, 
I  give  a  helpful  shove  whenever  I  can  do  so  unobserved — 
and  I  have  my  men  in  Congress  and  State  legislatures. 
They  may  not  be  first-class  men,  but  they  are  intelligent, 
and  they  obey  my  orders." 

"You  are  a  bit  of  a  Jesuit." 

"  It  is  a  valuable  lesson  I  have  learned  in  your  Europe. 
Besides,  I  want  the  crisis  to  come  in  my  best  years. 
Even  my  father  could  not  grapple  with  it  now;  and  as 
this  crisis  was  what  I  was  born  for  and  raised  for,  you 
will  admit  that  it  is  my  duty  to  use  every  faculty  and 
whatever  methods  the  peculiarities  of  my  country  de 
mand." 

16  241 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

"We  are  not  the  only  ones  who  think  ourselves  heaven  - 
born,"  murmured  Ranata. 

"True,  but  your  inspiration  and  mine  spring  from 
sources  as  asunder  as  the  poles.  A  fool  ascends  a  throne, 
with  no  more  than  enough  wit  to  sign  his  name,  with  not 
an  impulse  for  progression,  not  an  idea  with  which  to 
keep  his  state  abreast  of  the  other  great  nations  of  the 
earth,  with  perhaps  every  folly  that  will  scuttle  her  un 
less  a  revolution  or  Heaven  intervenes;  and  yet  there  he 
is,  half  his  length  above  other  men,  braver,  infinitely 
more  intelligent  men, who  accept  him  without  protest  and 
never  forget  to  flatter.  His  masses  endure  him  without 
question,  unless  he  push  them  to  extremity,  and  often 
then.  Can  you  wonder  that  he  believes  the  Almighty 
placed  him  on  that  throne  for  some  inscrutable  purpose, 
or  that  his  people  believe  it,  knowing  that  they  would 
have  selected  almost  any  one  else?  With  us  a  man 
blunders  along  through  square  holes  and  round  holes 
until  he  finds  the  one  that  fits  him,  and  then  he  settles 
down  and  attends  to  business.  I  had  the  superior  ad 
vantage  of  being  trained  for  a  specific  purpose  by  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  men  living,  and  I  have  inherited 
enough  of  him  to  make  the  consummation  possible.  I 
'found  myself  earlier  than  most  men  do,  and  I  have 
been  finishing  my  education  ever  since.  I  know  where 
I  stand  and  what  I  can  do.  My  final  accomplishment, 
of  course,  depends  entirely  upon  circumstances.  My 
best  effort  now  is  to  make  myself  ready  to  meet  any  con 
tingency  whatever,  and  to  leap  swiftly  to  its  mastery." 

Ranata  turned  her  head  and  regarded  him  intently. 
"If  I  did  not  know  you  so  well  through  my  intimacy 
with  Alexandra,"  she  said,  "I  should  find  it  difficult  to 
believe  that  patriotism  with  you  was  a  consuming  pas 
sion.  You  have  so  much  carelessness,  boyishness,  in 
your  manner — and — you  are  so  practical!" 

242 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

"  If  I  tore  about  like  a  raging  bull  I  might  accomplish 
notoriety,  but  I  certainly  should  accomplish  nothing 
else.  And  the  secret  of  the  failure  of  the  'reformers'  of 
the  United  States  is  that  they  have  the  ideals  and  the 
political  bosses  have  the  sense." 

She  asked  irresistibly,  "If  it  ever  came  to  a  choice 
between  your  country  and  a  woman,  what  would  be  the 
result?" 

"No  such  question  will  ever  arise." 

"No?" 

"Certainly  not.  Do  you  think  so  meanly  of  my  re 
sources  as  that?" 

"But  circumstances  are  sometimes  stronger  than 
men." 

"Some  men." 

Ranata  had  let  her  arm  drop  to  her  side ;  her  hand  was 
not  an  inch  from  Fessenden's.  Both  were  acutely 
aware  of  the  magnetic  temptation  of  that  nearness;  for 
a  second  all  their  being  seemed  to  have  surged  into 
their  finger-tips.  Fessenden's  curved  rigidly  inward. 
His  brain  was  still  in  control,  and  he  was  accustomed  to 
play  a  careful  and  far-seeing  game.  Her  hand  fluttered 
towards  his;  then  she  swung  about  abruptly. 

"Why  don't  you  sit  in  your  rocking-chair?"  she  asked 
with  a  nervous  laugh.  "I  must  turn  you  out  directly; 
it  is  nearly  time  to  dress." 

Fessenden  marched  to  the  chair,  and  rocked  himself 
for  twenty  minutes  with  every  appearance  of  content. 
Alexandra  came  in  from  the  next  room,  and  they  talked 
of  the  ball  of  the  following  night  and  of  other  im 
personal  things.  The  peasants  had  come  and  were 
housed,  and  a  remarkable  band  of  gypsies  had  been 
found  in  Transylvania.  Fessenden,  who  was  dining  in 
Pest,  rose  regretfully  at  seven. 

He  smiled  down  upon  Ranata  and  shook  her  hand 
243 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

slightly.  "Can  I  come  up  here  again?"  he  asked.  "I 
like  it  much  better  than  any  other  part  of  the  palace." 

"Perhaps,"  said  Ranata,  smiling,  but  angry  at  the 
quick  response  within  her  to  the  warm  and  personal 
attitude  of  the  lordly  male.  "You  have  had  your  own 
way  too  much.  I  think  you  need  disciplining." 

Alexandra  was  retiring  through  the  outer  room.  Fes- 
senden  raised  the  hand  he  held  and  pressed  his  lips  to  it 
twice  quickly.  "I  am  humblest  of  your  slaves,"  he  said 
unsteadily. 

"No  you  are  not!"  replied  Ranata  almost  as  unstead 
ily.  "And  I  wish  you  would  go.  I  have  never  been 
late  for  dinner  in  my  life." 

When  she  was  alone  she  turned  her  eyes  to  the  rocking- 
chair;  then,  after  a  manifest  effort  in  another  direction, 
she  moved  slowly  towards  it,  regarded  it  impatiently, 
tenderly,  then  sank  slowly  into  its  embrace  and  dropped 
her  head  against  the  cushion. 


XIX 

The  palace  at  Buda  to-day  (restored  by  Maria  The- 
resia)  is  chiefly  remarkable  for  the  imposing  beauty  of 
its  exterior;  within,  the  severe  elegance  of  its  walls  and 
furniture  conveys  not  a  hint  of  the  ornate  luxury,  the 
gorgeous  magnificence  of  the  palace  of  the  fifteenth  cen 
tury,  during  the  reign  of  Matthias  Corvinus,  son  of  John 
Hunyadi,  the  period  in  which  Hungary  commanded  the 
admiration  and  homage  of  Europe. 

Not  content  with  the  reputation  of  a  soldier  second 
only  to  that  of  his  great  father,  Matthias,  ascending  the 
throne  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  and  giving  immediate  evi 
dence  of  intellectual  and  governing  qualities  of  a  rare 
precocity  and  order,  quickly  ripened  into  a  scholar  and 

244 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

the  most  liberal  patron  of  the  arts  in  the  world  of  his 
day.  This  great  and  singular  man,  who  on  the  battle 
field  endured  the  hardships  of  the  meanest  of  his  sol 
diers;  who,  disguised,  entered  the  camp  of  his  enemies 
again  and  again,  or  calmly  took  his  observations  amid 
a  rain  of  bullets  and  spears,  whose  justice  passed  into 
a  proverb,  and  who  was  a  rigorous  administrator  of 
finance,  had  a  love  of  luxury,  matched  by  no  contempo 
rary,  that  would  have  sapped  the  energies  of  another  man, 
and  a  delight  in  purely  intellectual  pursuits  and  discus 
sions  that  rounded  one  of  the  most  versatile  and  grand 
ly  equipped  characters  known  to  history.  He  estab 
lished  and  personally  disciplined  a  body  of  foot  soldiers 
— the  Black  Troop  —  modelled  upon  and  equal  to  the 
famous  Janissaries  of  Turkey,  conquered  the  Czechs, 
and  captured  Vienna,  driving  out  Frederick,  the  Ger 
man  Emperor,  forcing  him  to  take  refuge  in  a  wagon 
drawn  by  oxen,  and  to  beg  from  convent  to  monastery 
like  any  common  mendicant.  The  court  of  this  ardent 
soldier  became  the  rallying-ground  of  scholars  and  art 
ists,  who  not  only  lived  on  his  bounty,  but  were  raised 
to  the  highest  positions  in  the  royal  household.  He 
spent  his  hours  of  leisure  in  day-long  arguments  with 
the  scientists  and  savants  who  had  deserted  all  other 
courts  for  this  most  enlightened  and  fascinating  of  mon- 
archs,  or  lying  at  ease  on  a  couch  covered  with  a  golden 
tapestry  embroidered  with  pearls,  in  one  of  the  most 
splendid  libraries  that  any  mortal  has  ever  possessed. 
This  library,  sacked  with  the  rest  of  the  palace  by  the 
Turks  after  the  battle  of  Mohacs,  was  contained  in  two 
immense  rooms,  whose  walls  were  covered  with  carved 
shelves  of  precious  woods  and  tapestries  of  velvet  em 
broidered  with  gold.  The  books,  collected  by  Matthias, 
and  in  many  cases  written  for  him,  numbered  ten  thou 
sand.  They  were  inscribed  on  white  vellum,  illuminated 

245 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

by  the  most  accomplished  masters  of  the  art,  and  bound 
in  colored  skins  set  with  precious  and  semi  -  precious 
stones.  On  the  cover  of  each  volume  was  a  miniature 
of  Matthias  and  his  coat-of-arms.  The  furnishings  of 
the  Palace  of  Buda,  its  objects  of  art,  many  made  from 
gold  or  silver  and  of  a  great  size,  the  tapestries,  the  pleas 
ure-rooms,  the  hanging  gardens  of  his  several  palaces, 
were  marvels  of  beauty  and  costliness;  and  the  embas 
sies  which  he  constantly  sent  to  the  various  courts  of 
Europe  so  surpassed  the  efforts  of  other  monarchs  in 
extravagance  that  his  resources  of  wealth  alone  struck 
despair  to  the  hearts  of  those  who  may  have  meditated 
an  assault  upon  his  kingdom.  When  about  to  take  a 
second  wife,  Beatrice,  daughter  of  the  King  of  Naples, 
the  splendors  and  luxuries  of  Buda  were  augmented  two 
fold  ;  and  on  the  day  of  the  wedding  the  great  hall  of  the 
palace,  in  addition  to  its  silken  hangings  interwoven 
with  gold  and  precious  stones,  its  tapestry  of  sheer  gold, 
its  thousand  vessels  of  silver,  its  golden  service  chased 
with  the  history  of  the  world,  silver  casks  of  wine  were 
suspended  from  the  ceiling,  and  a  huge  silver  fountain 
spouted  the  choicest  and  costliest  of  all  wines,  the  To 
kay  of  Hungary. 

The  manuscripts  in  their  jewelled  cases,  the  thousand 
objects  of  barbaric  magnificence,  were  gone  forever. 
There  was  no  modern  art  that  could  simulate  them, 
even  could  craftsmen  be  found  with  patience  for  the  at 
tempt  ;  but  Ranata  had  persuaded  the  Emperor  to  send 
to  Buda  some  twenty  of  the  superfluous  Gobelins  which 
the  Hapsburgs  have  retained  throughout  their  vicissi 
tudes.  Her  argument  had  enlivened  the  mood  of  her 
father,  and  raised  still  higher  his  hope  in  his  youngest 
born. 

"The  Hungarians,"  Ranata  had  written,  "no  doubt 
resent  the  very  obvious  fact  that  there  are  so  few  treas- 

246 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

ures  in  the  Palace  of  Buda,  and,  knowing  that  our  tap 
estries  are  packed  away  in  large  numbers,  and  are  as 
priceless  as  they  are  beautiful,  must  infer  that  we  fear 
to  trust  them  in  this  most  precarious  of  our  possessions. 
So  it  has  seemed  to  me  that  it  would  be  another  stroke 
of  diplomacy  to  send  several  of  the  best,  with  the  under 
standing  that  they  are  to  remain  here.  It  is  a  small  yet 
impressive  sum  to  stake  as  an  expression  of  our  confi 
dence  in  ourselves  and  our  Hungarian  subjects." 

The  tapestries  had  been  promptly  despatched,  and 
now  hung  in  the  four  circle  rooms  opening  into  the  Great 
Hall  of  Ceremonies,  and  in  the  blue  drawing-room  and 
adjacent  dining-room.  These  rooms,  as  well  as  the  long 
suite  down  the  front  of  the  palace,  were  recalled  for  the 
night  of  the  ball  from  their  arctic  splendors  by  a  lavish 
adornment  of  palms  and  flowers,  and  in  several  of  the 
srnrller  rooms  the  lights  were  pink.  Modern  as  it  was, 
the  Great  Hall  itself,  with  its  panels,  like  lakes  of  liquid 
gold,  vts  heavy  incrustations  of  yellow  bronze  on  the 
brilliant  white  of  the  wood,  and  its  immense  chandeliers, 
with  their  thousand  points  of  light,  was  too  perfect  in 
its  way  to  gain  aught  from  the  past,  nor  did  Ranata  add 
no  much  as  a  flower. 

It  had  been  decided  that  Prince  Arpa"d  Nadasdy,  an 
'aged  magnate  and  close  friend  of  the  Emperor,  should 
wear  the  royal  robes  of  Matthias,  as  neither  political  nor 
sentimental  significance  could  be  attached  to  his  imper 
sonation.  The  old  Prince  was  far  closer  upon  senility 
than  his  king  would  ever  be,  and  addicted  to  long  nights 
of  Csendes,  at  the  Nemzesi  Casino,  the  club  of  the  mag 
nates,  where  he  had  left  all  of  a  once  large  income  not 
absorbed  by  the  turf ;  but  he  had  ordered  his  costume 
of  a  long-suffering  tailor,  and  vowed,  over  the  hand  of 
his  beloved  princess,  that  he  would  give  the  final  touch 
of  reality  to  the  scene.  As  Matthias  had  died  in  his 

247 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

prime,  and  was  possessed  of  a  classic  beauty,  Prince 
Nadasdy,  who  did  not  number  vanity  among  his  vices, 
had  announced  his  intention  to  wear  a  flowing  fair  wig 
and  a  beard,  although  the  fine  outline  of  Matthias  had 
been  shaved  on  the  battle-field.  The  piercing  glance  of 
that  monarch  no  art  could  coax  into  the  bleared  orbs  of 
the  old  magnate,  but  he  still  had  a  figure  of  majestic 
height  and  carriage,  and  in  spite  of  dissipations  he  had 
preserved  its  slimness.  He  was  to  wait  at  the  upper 
end  of  the  Throne  Room  until  Ranata,  who  was  to  im 
personate  Beatrice  of  Naples,  dressed  for  the  first  time 
in  the  national  costume  of  her  lord,  should  have  made, 
in  her  own  character,  the  perfunctory  round  of  greeting 
among  her  assembled  guests.  He  would  then  stand  at 
her  side  at  the  lower  end  of  the  hall  while  the  peasants 
danced  the  Chardash,  and  afterwards  walk  with  her 
through  a  quadrille  d'honneur. 

At  nine  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  ball  the  great  com 
pany  was  assembled  in  the  Hall  of  Ceremonies  awaiting 
the  entrance  of  the  court,  but  the  aged  Matthias  had  not 
made  his  appearance.  In  that  splendid  scene,  however, 
he  was  not  missed,  and  every  eye  turned  constantly 
towards  the  door  beyond  the  second  circle  room  which 
led  to  the  private  apartments  of  the  Archduchess.  Many 
had  not  yet  seen  her,  or  but  in  glimpses,  and  by  this 
time  curiosity  had  risen  to  fever  pitch.  The  women  as 
well  as  the  men  were  in  the  eccentric  splendor  of  their 
national  dress,  and  although  it  varied  little  in  cut,  fancy 
and  extravagance  prevailed  in  the  materials  of  the  low 
bodice,  the  apron,  and  the  voluminous  skirts;  and  bod 
ice,  neck,  and  arms  were  almost  obliterated  by  the  big 
dull  uncut  jewels  and  heavy  chains  which,  with  the  an 
cient  costumes  of  velvet  and  satin,  embroidered  and 
brocaded  with  a  lost  art,  neither  time  nor  poverty  has 
been  able  to  drive  from  the  chest  of  the  Hungarian. 

248 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

The  magnates  wore,  although  lightly,  their  velvet  cloaks, 
fur-lined,  embroidered  with  jewels,  and  carried  their 
plumed  kalpags  in  one  hand. 

The  men  distinguished  in  art  and  letters,  without 
jewels  or  hereditary  costume,  still  made  a  fine  showing 
in  the  silk-and-velvet  dress  of  the  retainers  of  the  court 
of  Matthias,  but  the  greater  number  of  the  deputies,  in 
their  fierce  Hungarian  pride,  had  chosen  to  wear  the 
military  uniform  of  that  period,  which  included  a  short 
braided  jacket  and  a  velvet  cloak  of  some  brilliant  color. 

The  young  girls,  although  in  attire  less  imposing  than 
that  of  their  mothers  and  married  sisters,  were  quite  as 
picturesque,  and  their  white  gowns  rested  the  eye  in 
that  blaze  of  color.  Each  house  had  contributed  a 
young  son  who  wore  the  purple  velvet,  the  golden  chain, 
and  the  golden  network  on  their  heads  of  the  ambas 
sadorial  youths  of  King  Matthias.  These  pages  stood 
in  a  double  file  along  the  two  circle  rooms  leading  to  the 
apartments  of  the  Archduchess.  In  the  high  gallery 
that  traverses  the  hall  a  military  band  played  softly. 
Beneath,  in  the  arcade,  a  double  gypsy  band  awaited 
their  turn  and  eagerly  observed  the  historic  scene.  Be 
hind  them,  erect  against  the  wall,  as  dignified  and  im 
pressive  as  the  greatest  of  the  nobles,  were  the  peasants 
who  were  to  dance  the  Chardash.  Their  presence  was 
a  surprise  to  all,  and  they  had  inspired  almost  as  much 
conversation  as  the  royal  hostess  herself. 

That  conversation  was  very  animated,  at  times  quite 
shrill,  for  the  Hungarians,  as  lively  by  temperament  as 
the  American,  were  more  excited  to-night  than  they  had 
been  during  the  visit  of  William  of  Germany.  The  ex 
citement  during  his  entertainment  had  been,  with  slight 
exception,  confined  to  the  men,  but  there  was  not  a 
woman  in  the  palace  to-night  who  did  not  feel  a  flutter 
at  her  heart  and  a  shortening  of  her  breath.  Not  only 

249 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

was  Ranata  in  appearance  and  manner  their  ideal  of 
what  a  princess  should  be,  and  the  daughter  of  a  queen 
and  the  sister  of  a  prince  they  had  worshipped,  but  they 
stood  in  expectation  of  the  initial  moment  of  a  court 
life  which  promised  to  be  more  brilliant  than  anything 
in  Europe,  might  indeed  revive  the  gay  splendors  of  the 
days  when  their  fathers  had  been  the  greatest  aristoc 
racy  in  the  world— when  the  Hapsburgs  were  robber 
barons  and  the  Hohenzollerns  unknown.  That  this 
should  be  given  to  them  who  had  been  starved  of  court 
life,  that  those  who  were  too  impoverished  to  leave  their 
entailed  homes  and  go  to  Vienna  should  now  cherish 
the  prospect  of  constant  functions,  and  many  private 
entertainments  in  the  palace,  filled  every  feminine  hoart 
with  a  sense  of  enchantment,  and  gratitude  to  this  fairy 
princess  who  had  dared  to  have  an  idea.  They  were 
prepared  to  love  as  much  as  they  admir  d  her,  and  jeal 
ousy  had  entered  few  souls,  in  spite  of  tlu  extravagant 
admiration  of  the  men.  Many  of  the  women,  indeed, 
were  beautiful  enough  to  spare  themselves  envy,  and 
those  who  were  neither  handsome,  nor  yet  pretty,  had 
sufficient  cleverness  and  animation  to  keep  their  little 
courts  together. 

Alexandra  had  decided  not  to  enter  in  Ranata's  wake. 
Having  none  of  that  unwisdom  which  permits  a  wound 
to  self-love  that  a  grievance  may  be  nursed  afterwards, 
nor  yet  affinity  for  the  role  of  the  humble  follower,  she 
was  always  careful  not  to  be  placed  in  any  position  by 
her  exalted  friend  that  might  rankle  too  late  in  her  brain. 
She  had,  therefore,  entered  the  room  early,  under  the 
chaperonage  of  Princess  Nadasdy,  and  Zrinyi,  as  ever, 
hovered  close.  He  was  a  beautiful  object  in  his  thick 
gold  embroideries,  his  plum  -  colored  velvet  cloak,  his 
buttons  and  his  chains;  and  Alexandra,  in  the  dull-rose 
costume  with  its  old-lace  veil  and  apron,  lent  her  by  the 

250 


RUEERS    OF    KINGS 

ambitious  Zapolya,  excited  his  approval  to  such  a  de 
gree  that  once  more  he  poured  his  impassioned  avowal 
into  her  ears,  and  begged  her  to  accept  the  chests  of 
his  grandmother  as  well  as  himself. 

"Are  they  at  your  castle  in  the  Alps?"  asked  Alex 
andra.  "How  can  I  decide  such  a  question  when  I  do 
not  yet  know  whether  that  castle  is  sufficiently  ro 
mantic  to  meet  my  most  exacting  taste?  Like  all 
Americans,  Count,  I  am  a  connoisseur  in  castles;  and 
how  can  I  be  sure  that  your  grandmother's  clothes  will 
fit?  Besides,  I  am  a  monomaniac  on  the  subject  of 
microbes." 

Zrinyi,  if  he  did  not  yet  understand  her,  was  by  this 
time  sufficiently  seasoned  to  accept  her  sallies  with 
neither  sulks  nor  despair.  Perceiving  that  she  was  in  a 
frivolous  mood  he  changed  the  subject. 

"Are  you  not  glad  to  be  here  to-night?"  he  demanded. 
"To  play  a  part ?  Who  knows  what  may  be  the  result  of 
the  extraordinary  impression  the  Princess  has  made  ?  I 
feel  that  to-night  she  will  either  make  a — a — portentous 
impression  or  disillusionize  us  altogether." 

"Great  moment  in  the  history  of  Hungary?"  asked 
Alexandra  mischievously. 

The  Count  flushed,  but  laughed.  "Yes,"  he  said  de 
fiantly.  "I  seldom  have  presentiments,  but  when  I  do 
—I  shall  not  give  you  another  chance  to  laugh  at  me. 
I  do  not  see  Mr.  Abbott.  Was  he  not  to  come  with 
Prince  Nadasdy?  I  hope  nothing  has  happened  to  our 
king  of  to-night.  He  was  not  very  sober  last  evening 
at  the  club.  I  have  not  seen  him  to-day,  and  hoped  he 
was  in  bed  building  himself  up  for  the  ordeal." 

"  I  have  not  seen  my  brother  since  yesterday — he  sent 
word  this  morning  he  could  not  come  to  tea ;  but  I  know 
of  no  one  so  well  able  to  take  care  of  himself.  Still  I 
am  surprised,  for  he  should  be  here  before  the  Princess 

251 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

enters.  Even  he  would  hardly  dare  to  arrive  afterwards. 
Have  you  seen  him?" 

"Only  this  morning  in  the  park,  where  I  happened  to 
be  rather  early.  Perhaps  he  went  off  for  a  day  in  the 
country;  I  fancy  he  is  tired  of  being  stared  at.  He  ex 
cites  as  much  attention  as  the  Princess,  and  he  told  me 
last  night  that  he  is  persecuted  by  all  sorts  of  men  with 
business  schemes,  to  say  nothing  of  those  who  expect 
him  to  instruct  them  in  the  art  of  getting  rich.  I  find 
something  picturesque  myself  about  his  unimaginable 
wealth,  combined  with  the  fact  that  he  is  a  gentleman 
and  young;  but  I  admire  more  his  achievements,  and  I 
am  very  proud  to  be  one  of  the  many  to  do  him  honor  in 
Hungary." 

Then  Alexandra  gave  him  a  dazzling  smile,  and 
moved  a  step  closer.  "You  are  so  much  more  sensible 
than  you  were!"  she  whispered.  " I  feel  as  if  you  owed 
as  much  to  me  as  to  your  mother.  Who  knows  what 
may  happen  if  you  continue  to  improve?" 

' '  I  know  that  American  girls  say  things  that  in  any 
other  women  would  indicate  a  small  amount  of  heart 
and  soul.  It  is  safe  to  assume  that  you  mean  nothing 
you  say." 

"Think  of  the  reserve  force,  lacking  in  your  emotional 
woman!  I  may  not  give  much  at  a  time  when  I  marry, 
but  I  shall  have  enough  left  to  spread  over  a  lifetime." 

He  laughed.  "At  least  I  don't  delude  myself  that  you 
are  a  poet  in  disguise.  Well,  I  only  ask  that  you  marry 
me  and  let  me  begin  your  education.  You  may  also 
continue  mine." 

"You  really  are  improving — •"  began  Alexandra,  when 
with  the  rest  of  the  company  she  fell  silent.  The  staff 
of  the  Grand  Chamberlain  smote  the  floor  three  times. 

The  doors  of  the  private  apartments  opened,  and  the 
officers  of  the  court  appeared,  walking  backward.  As 

252 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

there  was  no  throne,  they  took  up  their  position  on  either 
side  of  the  entrance  to  the  Hall  of  Ceremonies.  And 
then  Ranata  entered. 

She  entered  alone,  although  her  ladies  followed  a 
moment  later.  As  she  walked  slowly  down  the  two 
circle  rooms,  empty  but  for  the  pages,  the  great  com 
pany,  in  curious  excitement,  which  they  attributed  after 
wards  to  the  complete  illusion  she  produced,  thronged 
towards  the  entrance  of  the  hall,  breathing  shortly  and 
crowding  each  other  without  ceremony. 

Her  appearance  and  her  solitary  progress  between  the 
ranks  of  bowing  pages  in  their  rich  medieval  costumes, 
was  as  startling  in  its  historic  naturalness  as  in  its  stately 
and  picturesque  beauty.  The  full  skirts  of  her  gown 
were  of  a  material  so  fine  as  to  be  almost  invisible,  cov 
ered  with  embroidery  in  pearls  and  silver  thread,  and 
flounces  of  point -lace.  The  bodice,  sloping  outward 
from  waist-line  to  shoulders,  was  of  pale  blue  velvet,  half 
covered  with  lace,  and  roped  together  across  the  black 
tulle  of  the  under-bodice  with  strands  of  large  pearls. 
The  court  train  of  blue  velvet  was  lined  with  lace  instead 
of  ermine — thus  increasing  the  ethereal  effect  of  the 
whole  costume  —  and  embroidered  with  black  ravens 
holding  a  golden  ring  in  the  beak — the  emblem  of  John 
Hunyadi.  Her  hair  fell  to  her  knees  in  thick  ropes  wound 
about  with  strands  of  pearls,  two  traversing  the  front 
of  her  figure,  the  rest  half  hidden  by  the  veil  which  hung 
from  a  tiara  almost  as  high  as  the  Pope's.  On  her  neck 
and  arms  were  many  pearls.  The  brilliant  fairness  of 
her  skin,  the  flaming  copper  of  her  hair,  the  intense 
blackness  of  her  brows  and  lashes,  the  regularity  of  her 
features,  and  the  majestic  beauty  of  her  figure,  combined 
with  her  royal  state,  the  enchantment  of  her  condescen 
sion  as  a  daughter  of  the  coldest  house  in  Europe, 
and  her  bewildering  presentment  of  the  daughter 

253 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 


of  the  Anjous,  induced  one  moment  of  silence  so  pro 
found  that  it  was  almost  hysterical.  Then  Zrinyi  lifted 
his  kalpag  and  cried  "Ely en!"  and  in  another  moment 
the  vast  company,  from  Prince  Illehazy,  most  dignified 
of  magnates,  to  the  most  truculent  deputy  in  the  room, 
were  stamping  their  feet  and  shouting  "Ely en!"  until 
the  chandeliers  trembled,  and  their  lights  were  reflected 
in  the  jewels  on  the  waving  kalpags.  Even  the  peas 
ants  and  gypsies  forgot  their  humble  role  and  broke  in 
with  abrupt  discordant  cries,  the  Roumanians  shout 
ing  "Setreasca!"  And  then  all  united  in  one  great 
"  Vivat!"  It  was  a  tribute  as  portentous  as  it  was  spon 
taneous,  for  it  had  been  accomplished  by  the  art  with 
out  words. 

For  an  instant  Ranata  felt  a  sensation  of  tumultuous 
faintness,  but  she  walked  on  slowly,  not  relaxing  the 
mask  of  her  face,  except  for  a  graceful  smile  of  acknowl 
edgment.  Then  she  was  possessed  by  an  exhilaration 
which  sent  the  blood  through  her  veins  like  spirits,  and 
in  her  brain  was  a  confusion  of  feminine  and  patriotic 
delight,  insolent  triumph  over  the  man  who  had  worked 
harder  than  she  to  make  these  walls  ring,  and  an  emo 
tional  melting  towards  one  whose  face  she  did  not  see 
in  that  worshipping  throng.  It  had  been  arranged  that 
the  distinguished  American  should  attend  King  Matthias 
as  captain  of  the  "Black  Troop,"  and  although  his 
place  for  the  moment  was  at  the  head  of  the  throne 
room  beside  the  King  his  height  should  make  him  no 
ticeable  even  in  the  confused  breaking  of  ranks.  But 
Ranata's  eyes  did  not  encounter  his,  and  as  she  advanced 
closer  to  that  tossed  sea  of  flashing  eyes  and  shouting 
voices,  this  daughter  of  the  Caesars,  who  had  convinced 
an  emperor  and  his  Metternich  that  she  could  maintain 
the  integrity  of  an  empire,  for  a  moment  forgot  her 
great  role  and  permitted  her  soul  to  murmur,  "Is  he 

254 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

here?  Is  he  here?  If  he  is,  does  he  think  me  the  most 
beautiful  woman  in  the  world?  Is  he  thrilled  with  my 
triumph?  Does  he  love  me  the  more  for  it?  Does  he 
love  me  at  all?" 

She  had  almost  reached  the  entrance  of  the  throne 
room,  and  the  company  was  moving  backward  to  the 
walls,  when,  through  the  falling  wave  of  sound,  a  low 
note  reached  her  ear  from  a  new  direction.  It  came 
from  the  blue  drawing-room,  which  here  opens  from  the 
second  circle  room;  and  although  the  word  was  merely 
the  one  still  echoing,  and  uttered  hardly  above  a  whis 
per,  it  thrilled  Ranata  as  even  the  fulness  of  her  triumph 
had  not  done.  Only  the  self-control  which  the  years 
and  her  state  had  given  her  kept  her  eyes  fixed  upon 
those  who  would  note  the  flicker  of  a  lash. 

She  entered  the  throne  room,  and  made  her  tour  of 
the  guests  in  what  was  now  an  atmosphere  vibrating 
with  suppressed  excitement.  They  held  their  breath 
to  hear  her  speak ;  and  although  to  exchange  a  word  with 
each  would  have  consumed  the  night,  she  paused  where 
she  thought  it  judicious  and  said  a  few  personal  words, 
while  her  eyes  included  those  close  by.  When  she 
reached  the  end  of  the  room  she  discovered  that  the  royal 
bridegroom  was  not  at  his  post,  and  was  profoundly  an 
noyed.  She  herself  might  be  the  Hamlet  of  the  piece, 
but  without  the  chief  accessory  the  illusion  would 
tremble.  There  was  no  sign  of  him,  however,  and  she 
could  only  hope  that,  fearing  the  full  fatigue,  he  was  in 
the  blue  room  with  his  captain. 

She  forgot  him  for  the  moment  as  her  eye  suddenly 
encountered  the  fixed  and  fiery  glance  of  Lajos  Molnar. 
He  wore  a  fierce  red  uniform,  and  stood  against  the  wall 
with  his  arms  folded.  He  looked  as  if  he  had  been 
dragged  to  the  palace  by  a  halter  and  was  prepared  for 
the  worst  that  could  befall  him. 

255 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

Ranata  smiled  brilliantly,  and  motioned  to  him  to 
come  forth.  He  obeyed  with  such  precipitation  that 
there  was  a  momentary  panic  in  the  ranks.  Ranata 
gave  him  her  lifted  hand,  and  he  kissed  it  like  any 
courtier. 

"Thank  you  for  obeying  my  orders,"  she  said.  " Have 
you  brought  your  friends?" 

"Four,"  he  stammered.  "The  others  were  obdurate, 
but  I  shall  win  another  time.  These  are  all  men  of 
importance;  and  like  myself  they  would  die  for  you, 
your  Royal  Highness!" 

"Ah!  Would  you?"  she  asked  softly.  "I  shall  not 
ask  that — only  that  you  will  all  come  here  to  luncheon 
to-morrow,  and  tell  me  what  you  think  I  should  know. 
Will  you?" 

"Yes — yes — will  I?" 

Ranata  smiled  again  and  passed  on,  but  in  truth  she 
was  repelled  at  the  unmasked  passion  in  his  face.  It 
was  evident  that  she  had  succeeded  too  well;  and,  while 
to  fascinate  him  was  a  necessary  part  of  her  programme, 
his  love  both  disgusted  and  faintly  alarmed  her.  Like 
all  women  whose  depths  have  been  profoundly  stirred 
by  one  man,  she  regarded  the  proffered  love  of  other  men 
as  an  insult,  and  was  merciless. 

When  she  had  finished  her  progress  amid  a  tribute 
as  expressive  as  its  vocal  prelude,  she  took  her  stand  at 
the  end  of  the  room;  the  Grand  Chamberlain  raised  his 
hand,  and  the  leader  of  the  gypsy  bands  struck  his  cym 
bal.  The  peasants  made  their  way  to  the  middle  of 
the  hall,  and  began  the  curious  stamping  march  which 
sometimes  opens  the  Chardash.  The  company  were 
diverted  at  once.  Not  only  was  here  a  novelty  worthy 
of  the  night,  but  the  peasants  had  been  selected  for 
their  good  looks  and  the  superior  beauty  and  freshness 
of  their  costumes.  The  men  from  the  Hungarian  vil- 

256 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

lages  had  much  embroidery  on  their  white  trousers  and 
flowing  shirts,  and  on  the  wide  sleeves  which  escaped 
from  jackets  as  elaborate  in  device  as  they  were  gay  in 
color;  their  slender  waists  were  bound  with  the  silken 
sash  of  the  gala-day,  and  many  wore  chains  about  their 
necks.  Those  that  had  been  found  in  Hungary's  Rou 
manian  villages  beyond  the  Theiss  wore  the  ancient 
Persian  sandal  laced  half-way  to  the  knee,  closer  trou 
sers,  and  a  graceful  shoulder-cloak.  Their  women  wore 
panels  of  embroidery  over  white  petticoats,  and  blouses 
almost  as  elaborate;  while  the  Hungarian  women,  if  not 
so  richly  attired,  were  quite  as  picturesque  in  their  tight 
bodices  of  bright  cloth  with  full  sleeves  and  upper 
front  of  spotless  lawn,  their  fancy  aprons  and  dainty 
kerchiefs.  All  were  handsome,  and  some  of  the  Rou 
manians  with  their  Roman  faces  and  antique  heads  and 
forms  had  as  much  beauty  as  falls  to  the  lot  of  any  mor 
tal.  As  they  passed  Ranata  they  looked  their  loyalty, 
for  they  too  pulsed  with  the  popular  excitement,  but 
they  played  their  part  with  a  calm  self-possession  which 
the  great  hills  and  the  lonely  plains  had  bred  in  them, 
and  courts  could  do  no  more. 

Ranata  fixed  her  gaze  resolutely  upon  them,  but  her 
ear  was  strained  towards  the  drawing-room.  Why  did 
not  the  bridegroom  come  forth  and  bring  the  captain 
in  his  wake?  But  it  was  not  until  the  march  was  over, 
and  the  partners  were  swinging  about  to  the  first  slow 
wail  of  the  dance,  and  holding  every  eye,  that  she  be 
came  aware  of  the  trailing  of  regal  garments  on  the  hard 
floor  behind  her.  Her  quick  ear  advised  her  that,  for 
the  moment  at  least,  he  was  unaccompanied.  She  set 
her  face  in  severity,  for  she  had  no  mind  to  let  the  old 
Prince  take  his  own  way  unreproved,  and  as  he  finally 
halted  beside  her  she  did  not  speak  nor  lift  her  eyes  to 
his,  although  she  darted  a  glance  of  feminine  curiosity 
17  257 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

over  his  costume.  It  was  regal  enough;  and  in  spite  of 
his  age  he  looked  a  superb  and  supple  figure  in  his  closely 
fitting  armor  of  gold  brocade  sewn  with  jewels,  covered 
to  the  waist  with  chains ;  and  his  legs  in  their  long  silken 
stockings  were  as  shapely  as  youth.  From  his  shoul 
ders  flowed  a  mantle  of  white  velvet  lined  with  ermine, 
and  embroidered  with  the  black  raven  holding  the  gold 
en  circlet  in  its  beak.  In  spite  of  her  intent  to  reprove, 
Ranata's  eye  travelled  upward  to  observe  how  well  he 
wore  the  crown,  the  while  her  ear  was  alert  for  another 
footfall.  But  her  ear  forgot  its  cunning,  and  her  eye 
the  crown  it  was  rising  to  criticise,  the  while  it  should  ig 
nore  the  bleared  apologetic  orbs  of  her  father's  old  friend. 
Her  gaze  was  arrested  and  held  by  the  piercing  glance 
which  tradition  and  the  artist  have  given  to  Matthias 
Corvinus.  And  the  rest  of  the  presentment  was  com 
plete,  Ranata  noted  as  her  knees  shook;  even  under  the 
fair  wig  and  beard  the  outlines  were  firm  and  fine,  and 
the  head  was  well  poised  and  shaped.  He  looked  far  more 
the  king  than  her  father  or  any  other  sovereign  in  Eu 
rope,  except  perhaps  the  man  whose  memory  she  had 
expunged  to-night.  Had  the  dead  risen?  As  the  room 
swam  round  her  she  wondered  if  she  were  expected  to 
drop  on  one  knee.  Then  the  eyes  puckered  themselves 
and  smiled,  and  Ranata  was  the  angriest  woman  in 
Hungary. 

"How  dared  you!"  she  exclaimed  beneath  her  breath. 
"How  dared  you!" 

"Dared?" 

"Yes!     Yes!     Yes!" 

"  It  required  no  courage  whatever,  merely  ingenuity— 
a  considerable  amount  of  that,  however.  Would  you 
care  to  hear  the  story?" 

"  I  have  no  curiosity  on  the  subject  whatever.  Where 
is  Prince  Nadasdy?" 

258 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

"At  this  moment?  I  have  no  idea.  Yes,  he  is  prob 
ably  at  the  casino — if  there  is  any  one  left  to  play  with 
him.  Otherwise  he  is  doubtless  lost  to  every  variety  of 
disappointment . ' ' 

"And  you — how  did  you  inveigle  that  costume  from 
him?" 

"Inveigle,  madame?  I  paid  a  king's  ransom  for  this 
costume." 

' '  Your  loathsome  American  millions !  I  thought  there 
were  a  few  things  they  could  not  accomplish." 

"There  is  nothing,  madame.  When  they  fail  it  is  due 
to  bungling  only." 

"You  have  no  cause  to  be  angry — to  assume  that  tone 
with  me!" 

"You  have  abused  me  like  a  pickpocket." 

"I  beg  your  pardon — it  seemed  to  me  incredible  that 
a  magnate  of  Hungary,  a  prince  who  has  been  a  member 
of  my  father's  household,  should  do  such  a  thing." 

"When  magnates  and  courtiers  are  consumed  with  a 
passion  for  gambling,  to  say  nothing  of  the  strong  wines 
of  Hungary,  they  are  apt  to  degenerate  into  very  ordi 
nary  human  creatures.  The  story  is  a  brief  one,  and  I 
know  you  wish  to  hear  it.  I  have  had  the  honor  of 
playing  a  number  of  games  of  Hungarian  poker  with 
your  prince,  who  conceived  a  flattering  preference  for 
my  game,  although  I  usually  won.  Three  nights  ago  I 
told  him  plainly  that  I  wanted  to  come  to  this  ball  as 
King  Matthias,  and  wear  his  costume.  At  first  he  mere 
ly  stared  at  me  helplessly;  then  he  reflected  that,  being 
an  American,  I  was  doubtless  mad,  and  proceeded  to 
deal  with  me  in  his  gentle  and  charming  manner.  When 
he  was  convinced  both  of  my  strength  of  purpose  and 
sanity,  I  proposed  a  game  in  which  he  should  stake  this 
costume  and  his  silence  against  a  sum  which  I  will  not 
name.  Furthermore,  if  I  won  I  was  to  pay  the  price  of 

259 


RULERS     OF    KINGS 

the  costume  three  times  over  and  return  it  to  him  the 
day  after  the  ball.  He  confessed  that  he  was  haunted 
by  the  fear  his  tailor  would  not  hand  over  the  outfit 
without  the  price,  and  that  he  might  have  to  mortgage 
his  family  jewels  to  pay  it.  He  closed  with  my  offer  in 
less  time  than  I  am  telling  you  this  tale.  His  last  scruple 
was  of  you,  for  he  knew  that  I  could  pass  unnoticed  in 
the  crowd,  particularly  if  I  kept  my  eyes  half  shut  and 
waggled  my  head  occasionally ;  and  I  vowed  to  him  that 
I  would  secure  your  forgiveness — " 

"  I  shall  never  forgive  either  of  you,  and  I  am  ashamed 
of  him." 

"So  am  I.  But  one  man's  loss  is  usually  another's 
gain,  and  I  am  here  without  a  scruple  or  regret." 

"Your  horrible  money  may  have  bought  poor  old 
Nadasdy,  but  it  will  carry  you  no  further." 

Fessenden's  hand  closed  deliberately  on  hers,  and  he 
drew  it  through  his  arm.  Ranata  was  aghast,  but  it  was 
impossible  to  struggle,  and  she  stood  rigid,  but  closer  to 
him  by  two  inches. 

"I  and  the  money  you  hate  have  no  further  dealings 
with  each  other  to-night,"  he  whispered.  "But  for 
every  barrier  it  has  levelled  between  you  and  me,  for 
all  that  it  has  permitted  me  to  accomplish  that  makes 
me  more  worthy  of  you,  it  has  my  eternal  gratitude. 
And  now,  please  forget  it." 

"I  can  forget  nothing,"  she  murmured.  "And  you 
are  running  a  terrible  risk.  If  my  father  hears  of  this 
you  may  be  requested  to  leave  the  Empire." 

"May  I  tell  you  that  you  are  looking  more  beautiful 
than  any  one  on  earth  can  look?" 

"Am  I?" 

She  grasped  at  her  receding  anger,  but  it  vanished. 
Into  its  place  flashed  an  enchanting  sense  of  danger; 
the  wildness  in  her  Hapsburg  blood  leaped  its  dike  and 

260 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

seemed  to  roar  in  her  ears  the  while  it  sang  in  her  soul. 
She  forgot  the  years  in  which  she  had  mourned  the  sub 
jugation  of  Rudolf's  fine  brain  by  his  passions,  and  the 
interminable  disasters  his  weakness  had  entailed.  Why 
should  she  not  be  thankful  that  her  own  drama  had  be 
gun  at  last  ?  She  should  live  and  feel.  What  mattered 
the  end? 

It  was  by  no  means  the  first  time  the  temptation  had 
beset  her  since  she  had  met  Fessenden  Abbott,  but  her 
brain  had  controlled  her  hitherto;  she  had  fancied  that 
her  clear  vision  would  keep  the  end  always  in  view, 
however  she  might  feel  the  weakness  of  woman  within 
her  and  indulge  it  in  friendship,  while  working  for  the 
cause  of  her  house.  But  the  excitement  and  exhilara 
tion  of  this  evening  had  lifted  her  to  reckless  heights,  her 
pulses  were  throbbing,  her  being  was  trembling  with  ex 
altation,  her  head  almost  whirling.  And  before  her  was 
the  great  company  who  knew  nothing,  suspected  nothing. 
To  live  in  their  very  presence,  as  if  they  were  ants  on  a 
hill — her  newly  born  dramatic  sense  flew  to  the  fanning 
of  her  emotions.  She  leaned  heavily  on  his  arm  and 
raised  her  eyes. 

"Am  I?"^she  whispered  again.  "I  wondered  —  I 
heard  your  Elyen" 

"I  knew  that  you  heard  it." 

"I  did  not  turn  my  head." 

"Nevertheless,  I  knew." 

"Can  you  read  my  soul?"  she  exclaimed  in  a  momen 
tary  panic.  "Do  not  read  too  much." 

"That  is  all  I  live  for." 

"You — who  have  so  much  else!  Would  you  give  up 
one  of  your  ambitions  for  me?" 

"I  would  give  up  the  whole  game,  every  ambition, 
every  penny." 

"Your  country?" 

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RULERS    OF    KINGS 

"Yes,  my  country." 

"You  were  very  cool  about  it  yesterday." 

"Yesterday  is  not  to-night." 

"I  had  the  greatest  faith  in  your  devotion  to  your 
country." 

"When  you  feel  as  I  do  now  you  will  have  faith  in 
nothing  else." 

"Do  not  be  too  mad.  Let  us  be  happy  for  this  one 
evening." 

"Is  this  your  idea  of  happiness?" 

"I  am  as  happy  as  I  dare  to  be." 

"When  I  have  taught  you  what  happiness  is  you  will 
remember  this  prelude  as  a  very  poor  affair." 

"Have  you  also  bought  poor  old  Nadasdy's  jewels?" 

"No,  he  is  not  so  bad  as  that;  but  he  is  not  above 
renting  them." 

"Not  another  magnate  would  speak  to  him  again  if 
they  knew  what  he  had  done." 

"They  are  not  to  know  it." 

"Why  did  you  wish  to  be  king?" 

"For  two  reasons:  I  am  tired  of  duennas  and  inter 
ruptions — I  have  not  much  patience.  Matthias  was  the 
husband  of  Beatrice,  and  you  are  Beatrice.  In  the  eyes 
of  this  fanciful  company  to-night  you  are  my  wife — I 
am  your  bridegroom." 

He  felt  her  tremble  and  draw  in  her  breath  sharply. 
But  in  a  moment  she  raised  her  eyes  again — and  there 
was  no  veil  upon  them — and  said:  "Yes — I  will  be  Bea 
trice  for  these  few  hours,  and  believe  that  you  are  Mat 
thias.  Is — do  you  mean  to  tell  me  that  there  is  no 
happiness  in  such  imagining?  If  I  have  been  happy  in 
my  fancy  before,  surely  this — this — " 

Fessenden  was  as  nearly  intoxicated  as  a  man  may 
be  in  the  presence  of  a  thousand  people.  "Listen  to  the 
Chardash  for  a  moment,"  he  said  unsteadily. 

262 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

The  Chardash  was  near  its  finish.  The  gypsies  were 
playing  madly.  The  peasants  were  shouting  and  stamp 
ing,  their  women  dancing  with  the  graceful  energy  of 
panthers;  the  spectators  were  looking  on  in  delight,  the 
bodies  of  many  swaying  slightly.  The  music  stopped 
with  a  crash  that  had  a  note  of  disappointment  and 
anger  in  its  triumph ;  the  peasants  marched  forward  and 
bowed  profoundly  to  their  sovereigns — who  looked  as 
high  and  impersonal,  yet  gracious,  as  sovereigns  should 
look — then  filed  out  of  the  room,  to  revel  in  the  servants' 
quarters  till  morning. 

The  guests  were  impatient  to  dance.  The  musicians 
in  the  gallery  received  their  signal,  and  the  opening 
quadrilles  were  quickly  formed,  eight  in  the  four  circle 
rooms. 

Fessenden  walked  through  the  stately  old-fashioned 
quadrille  very  creditably.  His  hands  were  concealed  in 
gauntlets,  and  his  height  would  have  saved  his  face  from 
too  close  an  inspection  had  any  one  felt  sufficient  inter 
est  in  the  old  Prince  to  examine  him  in  detail.  Once 
only  he  caught  the  eye  of  the  Countess  Piroska  Zapolya, 
and  wondered  if  she  had  recognized  him.  He  was  the 
least  vain  of  men,  but  she  had  exhibited  a  preference 
for  the  distinguished  young  millionaire  as  openly  as  a 
high-born  maiden  may;  and  the  glance  he  encountered 
to-night  was  less  guileless,  perhaps  less  amiable  than 
usual.  But  she  left  Fessenden's  mind  as  abruptly  as  she 
had  entered  it.  He  was  absorbed  in  planning  an  inter 
view  alone  with  Ranata.  He  had  come  to  the  palace  in 
doubt  as  to  what  he  should  say  or  leave  unsaid  until  a 
future  stage,  but  her  sudden  unmistakable  yielding  to 
her  emotions,  if  not  to  him,  had  sent  the  blood  to  his 
head  and  spurred  his  will  to  action.  He  divined  that 
she  intended  to  play  with  those  emotions  under  the  pro 
tecting  eye  of  the  public;  but  while  he  had  no  mind  to 

263 


RULERS    OF   KINGS 

court  too  great  temptation  himself,  he  was  determined 
to  seclude  her  long  enough  for  a  conversation  which 
should  put  an  end  to  moods  and  coquetry,  and  compel 
her  to  face  herself  and  him.  The  quadrille  finished  with 
a  waltz,  and  he  saw  his  opportunity.  He  put  his  arm 
about  her  before  she  had  time  to  retire  to  her  former 
position. 

"Take  your  train  over  your  arm,"  he  said,  "or  you  will 
have  a  circle  about  you  as  many  yards  deep ;  and  I  want 
to  be  lost  in  the  crowd." 

She  obeyed  him,  and  they  waltzed  unobserved.  The 
greater  part  of  the  company  was  dancing;  the  older 
women,  including  Sarolta,  had  gone  to  the  reception- 
rooms  to  play  cards  or  eat  ices,  and  no  one  would  be 
surprised  if  the  royal  hostess,  her  part  played,  had 
chosen  to  retire.  It  was  evident  that  the  guests  were 
expected  to  enjoy  themselves;  and  if  anything  further 
was  necessary  to  add  to  the  gay  content  of  the  evening, 
it  came  with  the  rumor  that  immediately  after  supper 
Count  Zrinyi  and  Miss  Abbott  would  lead  a  cotillion, 
and  that  the  favors  were  many  and  unique. 

"This  evening  is  ours,"  said  Fessenden  peremptorily. 
"Take  me  where  we  can  talk  alone  for  an  hour." 

But  she  took  alarm.  "Not  quite  alone.  On  the 
balcony  in  front  of  the  tea-room  perhaps — " 

"A  balcony,  if  you  like,  for  it  is  too  warm  to  think  in 
the  palace.  But  not  that  one.  You  must  trust  me. 
You  will  have  to  do  so  for  the  rest  of  your  life,  so  you 
may  as  well  begin  now." 

Ranata,  having  no  practical  knowledge  of  men,  and 
still  throbbing  with  a  reckless  desire  for  adventure, 
hesitated  no  longer.  She  had  learned  that  this  Amer 
ican's  power  of  self-control  was  very  great;  and  if  he 
would  permit  her  to  play  with  fire  until  the  wildest  in 
her  was  exhausted,  and  she  could  feel  for  him  again  as 

264 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

she  had  felt  in  sadder  hours  of  self-communing,  why 
should  she  fling  aside  an  opportunity  which  might  never 
come  again?  He  held  her  in  a  light  embrace,  but  it 
filled  her  with  happiness  and  submission.  She  was  all 
woman,  and  the  sensation  intoxicated  her.  Let  the 
morrow  and  its  cold  duties  take  care  of  themselves. 

When  a  woman  with  an  uncommon  power  of  passion 
delivers  herself  to  liberty  after  years  of  self -repression  she 
is  more  than  likely  to  forget  all  she  has  ever  considered, 
and  pass  with  blind  eyes  the  half-way  house  where  most 
women  sit  down  and  think.  Perhaps  it  is  more  correct 
to  say  that  the  fire  in  her  brain  induces  a  sort  of  insanity 
of  which  the  average  mortal  is  incapable,  and  in  spite 
of  the  ideals  of  her  calmer  moments  and  her  thoughtful 
programme  of  conduct,  she  is  at  the  mercy  of  the  man. 
In  this  instance  the  man  was  playing  a  very  big  game; 
and  although  Ranata  was  in  no  mood  for  analysis, 
instinct  told  her  that  he  was  the  one  man  who  had  ever 
loved  her  with  whom  she  could  trust  herself. 

They  were  in  the  circle  room  from  which  her  apart 
ments  opened.  It  was  not  wise  to  enter  directly.  She 
pushed  aside  a  tapestry  on  the  left,  and  when  it  fell  they 
were  in  a  corridor.  It  was  deserted  and  she  led  him 
through  unlighted  rooms  and  into  her  suite  by  the  door 
which  the  King  had  used  when  the  Queen  came  to  Buda. 
Here  the  lights  burned  dimly,  but  she  did  not  pause 
until  they  were  on  the  balcony.  The  moon  was  too 
young  to  reveal  them  to  any  one  below;  but  a  woman 
who  has  been  severely  chaperoned  will  sit  out  all  night 
with  a  man  and  shrink  from  the  indelicacy  of  screening 
walls. 

Ranata  sank  hurriedly  into  a  chair  and  motioned 
Fessenden  to  one  opposite;  but  he  shook  his  head  and 
stood  looking  down  upon  her  for  a  moment  without 
speaking.  He  had  left  his  beard  and  wig  and  crown  in 

265 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

the  sitting-room,  and  in  that  superb  costume  under  the 
light  of  moon  and  stars  he  looked  not  unlike  Matthias, 
and  handsomer  than  himself  had  ever  looked  before.  His 
beauty  was  the  last  thing  that  concerned  him,  but  he  saw 
the  sudden  rise  of  Ranata's  bosom  under  the  tight  bodice, 
and  the  flash  in  her  eyes  as  she  dropped  them.  He  did 
not  comprehend  the  cause,  but  he  tingled  in  response  and 
almost  yielded  to  an  impulse  to  kneel  beside  her  and  take 
her  in  his  arms.  But  there  was  too  much  to  say,  and  he 
drew  back.  If  he  kissed  her  now  he  should  have  to  talk 
to  her  another  time,  and  opportunities  were  too  rare. 

"Let  us  thresh  it  out,"  he  said.  "I  want  to  marry 
you.  You  have  a  hundred  reasons  against  it,  of  course. 
They  never  will  mean  anything  to  me;  but  if  you  want 
to  relieve  your  mind  I  am  ready  to  hear  and  answer  them. ' ' 

She  had  put  out  her  hands  in  deprecation.  "Don't 
be  so  practical  to-night!  We  could  write  all  that  if  it 
must  be  said.  To-night  we  were  to  play  a  game — I 
am  Beatrice — you  are  Matthias." 

"  Not  here.  That  sort  of  thing  is  for  a  ballroom  flirta 
tion,  or  for  lengths  which  you  probably  don't  under 
stand.  I  am  up  to  no  such  pretty  comedy  here  alone 
with  you;  besides,  I  am  in  no  mood  for  the  unreal,  no 
matter  how  pleasant  it  might  be.  This  is  a  matter 
of  eternity  with  me.  I  have  never  loved  any  woman 
before,  and  I  have  never  wanted  anything  I  have  fought 
for  with  my  life  in  my  hand  as  I  want  you.  These  are 
the  first  moments  I  have  actually  felt  the  reality  of  life. 
It  has  been  a  game  before.  I  know  now  I  could  have 
relinquished  that  game  at  any  moment  for  something 
else,  with  no  very  deep  pang.  But  I  could  no  more  give 
you  up  than  I  could  live  without  my  head.  And  I 
have  no  intention  of  trying.  I  shall  marry  you,  but 
whether  it  is  to  be  the  most  difficult  job  of  my  life 
or  not  depends  entirely  upon  you.  You  love  me,  and  I 

266 


RULERS   OF    KINGS 

am  romantic  enough  to  believe  that  every  man  has  his 
mate  in  this  world,  and  that  you  are  mine;  but  your 
head  is  full  of  absurd  notions  that  you  will  have  for 
gotten  after  a  year  in  the  United  States." 

She  stood  up  then,  the  princess  again  for  a  moment. 
"Oh!"  she  exclaimed.  "Remember  that  Europe  is  still 
a  reality;  that,  so  long  as  the  United  States  permits  it  to 
exist  on  the  map,  its  prejudices  and  customs  are  entitled 
to  respect." 

"  I  am  ready  to  respect  your  prejudices,  but  as  I  am 
not  a  European  I  am  not  obliged  to  accept  them  as  final." 

"Is  it  possible,"  she  asked,  staring  at  him,  "that  you 
do  not  know  we  never  could  marry?" 

"Only  if  every  clergyman  on  the  planet  refused  to 
perform  the  ceremony.  Have  you  not,  with  that  fine 
brain  of  yours,  thought  deeply  enough  to  know  that 
nothing  is  impossible  ?  I  could  have  told  myself  that  a 
hundred  things  were  impossible,  and  be  a  nonentity 
to-day.  Marriage  between  a  man  and  woman  who  are 
free  is  the  least  of  the  impossibilities." 

"  But,  great  Heaven! — cannot  you  understand? — I  am 
the  daughter  of  the  Emperor  of  Austria!" 

"You  are  not  any  other  man's  wife.  That  is  all  that 
concerns  me." 

"Do  you  realize  what  it  would  mean  to  Europe,  to 
the  principle  of  monarchy,  if  I,  an  archduchess  of 
Austria,  married  an  American?" 

"  Do  you  imagine  that  I  am  interested  in  perpetuating 
the  monarchical  idea?" 

"  But  I  am — at  all  events,  I,  as  a  part  of  it,  know  where 
my  duty  lies;  and — will  you  consider  my  mission  here?" 

"Your  mission  here  is  the  impossible  one  of  preserv 
ing  the  integrity  of  the  Austro-Hungarian  Monarchy. 
Western  Austria  will  melt  towards  the  German  Empire 
by  a  natural  law;  and  as  for  Hungary,  cannot  you  see 

267 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

that  the  destiny  of  this  people  is  independence?  They 
would  accept  you  as  a  welcome  substitute  for  Franz 
Ferdinand,  but  only  until  they  were  ready  to  face  Eu 
rope  as  an  independent  state.  Do  you  suppose  that  the 
sole  destiny  of  the  United  States  is  to  live  and  prosper? 
Every  day  envy  of  her  grows  in  the  European,  ridden 
by  police,  his  individuality  cramped  by  social  laws,  his 
manhood  dwarfed  by  a  ridiculous  institution  that  should 
have  disappeared  with  the  first  year  of  free  schools. 
Monarchy  was  necessary  enough  in  its  time,  but  its 
time  is  past.  All  educated  mankind  is  determined  upon 
freedom.  William  of  Germany  will  not  admit  it,  but  his 
mission  is  to  sweep  the  kinglets  of  Europe  off  the  board 
and  unite  their  states  into  a  peaceful  whole  which  shall 
convert  itself  at  the  right  moment  into  another  great 
republic  founded  on  the  few  sound  principles  of  social 
ism.  Man's  destiny  has  steadily  progressed  towards  in 
dependence  since  the  beginning  of  general  education, 
and  the  time  is  almost  ripe  for  the  fulfilment  of  it.  That 
is  the  reason,  quite  aside  from  friendship,  that  I  shall  give 
my  assistance  to  William  the  moment  he  is  ready  for  it. 
He  pretends  not  to  believe  that  the  result  must  be  a  repub 
lic,  but  in  the  depths  of  his  great  intelligence  he  must." 

Now  was  the  moment  for  acting,  to  promise  anything 
if  he  would  desert  William.  But  the  thought  passed 
through  her  mind  and  out.  That  might  have  been 
possible  yesterday,  but  not  to-night;  might  indeed  have 
been  possible  an  hour  earlier,  but  not  now.  She  too 
was  facing  the  bald  realities;  and  the  chiefest  was  that 
her  love  for  this  man,  at  whom  she  seemed  to  stare 
through  a  mountain,  was  eternal;  and  that  she  could 
take  no  advantage  of  his  love  for  her,  even  were  there 
anything  else  that  mattered. 

As  she  stood  and  looked  at  him,  her  eyes  stony,  her 
face  set  in  despair,  Fessenden  for  the  first  time  felt  his 

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RULERS    OP    KINGS 

courage  recede.  Her  next  words  left  him  for  a  few 
moments  without  speech,  and  with  the  sensation  that 
the  world  had  come  suddenly  to  an  end. 

"Then,"  she  said,  "I  must  work  out  my  destiny  with 
my  house.  If  it  is  tottering,  then  the  severer  my  duty 
to  stand  by  it  till  it  falls.  What  happiness  could  I 
have? — what  a  picture! — I  secure  in  America,  and  all 
my  kind  groaning  under  the  ruins  of  Europe  ?  I  believe 
that  what  you  predict  has  reason  enough.  I  am  no 
infatuated  monarchist.  I  have  known  Alexandra  too 
long  for  that.  And  I  have  never  doubted  the  fate  of 
Austria  since  Rudolf's  death.  There  is  no  reason  why 
the  rest  of  Europe  should  not  follow.  But  it  will  not  come 
in  a  moment,  and  it  is  the  bare  duty  of  every  man  and 
woman  of  royal  birth  to  give  to  the  old  idea  their  last 
drop  of  heart's  blood  and  life  blood,  whether  there  is 
any  individual  achievement  for  them  or  not.  As  for  me, 
if  I  were  convinced — which  I  am  not — that  I  could  do 
no  good  by  making  Hungary  mine,  still  would  I  remain 
at  my  post.  It  will  break  my  heart;  it  will  make  life  a 
mere  tread-mill,  now  that  I  have  known  you;  but  if  you 
kidnapped  me  I  should  return." 

They  faced  each  other  then  for  two  or  three  minutes 
without  speaking;  but  although  Fessenden  could  de 
scend  into  depths  of  discouragement,  nothing  this  side 
of  death  could  keep  him  there.  The  army  of  resources 
in  his  soul  stirred  in  their  nap — it  was  seldom  they  slept 
— and  quickened  his  blood  in  the  old  lust  of  the  fight. 
He  revolted  with  angry  impatience  against  his  momen 
tary  despair;  and  at  the  same  time  realized  that  this, the 
supreme  desire  of  his  life,  he  would  not  have  won  with 
no  exercise  of  the  talents  which  had  been  given  him  that 
he  might  wear  down  and  ride  down  the  obstacles  of  life. 

"Very  well,"  he  said,  "your  way  of  looking  at  things 
is  natural  enough;  but  I  don't  want  you  to  forget  for 

269 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

one  moment  that,  deeply  as  I  respect  even  your  preju 
dices,  they  mean  nothing  to  me  intellectually,  and 
never  can  influence  my  conduct  in  the  least.  But  on 
this  subject  I  will  say  no  more  now  except  that  your 
argument  that  you  should  stand  by  your  house  until 
it  falls  is  too  illogical  to  be  worthy  of  you.  It  is  not  a 
woman's  part  in  life  to  prop  up  rotten  structures,  but  to 
assist  man  in  founding  new  ones  to  replace  the  old ;  nor 
is  it  the  highest  destiny  of  human  beings  to  retrograde 
or  stand  still,  but  to  progress.  And  if  I  regard  the  past 
with  its  superstitions  and  institutions  as  mere  history, 
as  a  mere  prelude  to  a  far  greater  present,  and  if  I  my 
self  belong  to  that  present  and  to  the  future,  you  by  no 
means  are  an  indissoluble  part  of  the  past.  You  are  too 
virile,  too  healthy,  too  modern,  too  great  in  every  part 
of  your  equipment;  you  represent  the  utmost  that  Eu 
rope  and  her  centuries  have  been  able  to  make  of  your 
sex;  and  if  she  had  any  design  in  making  you,  it  was  as 
a  present  to  the  future,  not  as  a  sacrifice  to  the  past. 
But  enough.  I  have  a  plan  to  propose.  For  two  months 
we  will  not  speak  of  this.  Nurse  your  traditions  if  you 
like,  believe  that  we  must  part,  but  make  up  your  mind 
to  be  happy  during  this  time.  We  will  have  constant 
companionship  and  some  moments  alone." 

The  light  broke  through  her  face  again,  and  she  held 
out  her  hands.  "Yes!  Yes!"  she  exclaimed.  "A  fool's 
paradise!  That  is  what  I  would  have  asked.  It  is  all 
I  can  ever  know,  and  it  will  give  me  courage  for  the  rest 
of  my  life.  But  I  was  afraid — I  was  afraid —  It  is  a 
very  unpractical  plan  for  you  to  suggest." 

"I  have  my  unpractical  moments,"  said  Fessenden, 
"and  this  is  one  of  them."  And  then  he  caught  her  in 
his  arms  and  kissed  her,  while  the  music  of  the  Chardash 
from  the  palace  and  the  Danube  beat  upon  them;  and 
something  of  the  dearest  dream  of  both  was  realized. 

270 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

But  he  left  her  presently.  As  he  closed  behind  him 
the  door  by  which  he  had  entered  the  private  apartments, 
he  had  a  flashing  glimpse  of  a  face  he  knew;  but  the 
blood  was  in  his  head,  and  the  small  white  visage,  disap 
pearing  like  a  ghost's,  made  no  impression  on  him — he 
did  not  even  recall  it  in  cooler  moments.  He  had  read 
justed  his  disguise,  and  he  made  his  way  down  the  great 
staircase,  exciting  no  more  comment  than  would  have 
fallen  to  the  portion  of  Prince  Nadasdy,  who  certainly 
would  be  expected  to  go  home  early.  When  he  reached 
the  palace  of  the  old  Prince  he  changed  his  gorgeous 
trappings  for  the  inconspicuous  tweeds  he  had  left  there, 
and  then  went  out  and  walked  until  dawn.  When  he  re 
turned  to  his  hotel  he  wrote  two  letters,  one  to  his  father, 
and  one  to  his  friend  in  Berlin.  The  latter  concluded  as 
follows:  "...  But  not  for  two  months,  or  thereabouts. 
I  want  her  to  have  a  deep  draught  of  this  Hungarian 
wine  she  finds  so  heady,  that  she  may  have  the  less  to 
torment  her  imagination  with  in  the  future.  Moreover, 
I  want  that  much  time  to  teach  her  that  she  really  loves 
me.  If  we  acted  too  promptly,  she  might,  during  the 
inevitable  weeks,  perhaps  months,  of  separation,  per 
suade  herself  that  it  had  been  but  a  passing  madness. 
And  I  want  her  to  be  in  no  doubt  during  that  time  of 
what  her  rewards  will  be." 

"I  can  safely  count  on  help  there,"  thought  Fessenden, 
as  he  enclosed  the  letter  in  a  second  envelope  addressed 
to  a  less  conspicuous  name,  "for  before  these  two  months 
have  passed  he  will  be  as  anxious  to  see  her  in  America 
as  I  am." 

XX 

At  luncheon  that  afternoon  Fessenden  found  himself 
beside  the  Countess  Piroska.  The  Archduchess  had  an 

271 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

Independent  on  either  hand,  and  Alexandra  assisted  her 
with  one  of  them.  The  Countess  Vilma  had  another  in 
charge.  There  were  no  other  guests,  and  Sarolta,  who 
had  found  the  prospect  of  Radical  politicians  anything 
but  amusing,  was  lunching  elsewhere.  The  table  had 
been  laid  in  the  small  dining-room  adjoining  the  blue 
room,  but  the  curtains  were  half  drawn  across  the  large 
windows,  for  all  the  women  were  paler  than  usual. 
Three  had  danced  until  the  cocks  of  Buda  announced 
the  morning,  and  the  other  had  slept  less  than  they. 
She  and  Fessenden  had  met  without  a  word,  but  with  a 
handshake  of  complete  understanding.  The  "Young 
Kossuths ' '  were  in  good  order ;  they  had  left  the  ball  as 
soon  as  the  general  dancing  began.  As  they  entered 
to-day  they  had  looked  somewhat  truculent,  as  if  fear 
ful  of  patronage,  but  were  now  at  their  ease,  and  Molna> 
alone  appeared  indifferent  to  the  delicate  viands  of  the 
palace  chefs. 

"He  is  in  love  with  our  princess,"  whispered  Piroska 
scornfully.  "  Not  but  that  it  is  quite  natural  everybody 
should  fall  in  love  with  her,  but  I  should  think  it  would 
be  a  sensation  to  be  avoided  by  any  one  under  an  arch 
duke;  and  as  for  Molna>,  he  is  not  to  be  pitied,  he  is  too 
ludicrous." 

"I  don't  fancy  you  waste  much  pity  on  any  one," 
said  Fessenden. 

"I  pity  you,"  said  Piroska  softly. 

"Indeed?"  he  asked  innocently.  "What  have  I  done 
that  I  should  be  pitied?" 

"Done?  Ah  —  but  I  understand  American  better 
since  I  have  had  the  pleasure  to  know  Miss  Abbott.  I 
mean — I  think  you  are  too  fine  to  waste  your  love  on  a 
woman  who  is  no  more  achievable  than  the  polar  star." 

"Oh —  Do  you  think  I  am  in  love  with  the  Arch 
duchess?  Well,  I  will  confide  to  you  that  I  am,  but 

272 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

don't — don't  betray  me,  or  the  Emperor  will  be  ordering 
me  out  of  the  Dual  Monarchy ;  and  I  have  a  theory  that 
it  is  a  good  thing  for  a  young  man  to  be  in  love  with  the 
polar  star.  It  keeps  him  out  of  much  mischief." 

Piroska  was  nonplussed,  and  turned  her  wide  gaze 
upon  him.  He  was  eating  with  every  appearance  of 
appetite,  and  Piroska,  although  a  sordid  soul,  had  her 
idea  of  what  a  lover  should  be. 

"You  never  have  eyes  for  any  one  else,"  she  mur 
mured,  at  a  loss. 

"Remember  the  limited  time  at  my  disposal.  One 
month — two,  perhaps,  and  I  must  walk  a  tread-mill  in  a 
land  without  polar  stars."  He  was  thinking,  "Shall  I 
throw  her  off  the  track,  or  would  she  be  more  useful  as 
an  enemy?  I  should  use  her  without  scruple,  for  I 
am  convinced  that  she  is  here  to  spy,  and  she  has  a 
ledger  where  her  heart  ought  to  be.  It  will  not  do  to 
be  too  precipitate;  she  might  act  before  we  are  ready. 
All  I  want  is  her  added  weight  at  the  right  moment." 
He  determined  to  be  guided  by  events,  and  turned  to 
her  with  his  frank  smile,  which  seemed  at  once  to  es 
tablish  a  personal  relation.  "I  should  like  to  show  you 
America — that  is  a  large  order! — New  York,  rather,"  he 
said.  "You  must  come  over  some  time  with  my  sister." 
And  then,  to  the  mystified  but  delighted  little  in 
trigante,  he  made  himself  as  agreeable  for  the  next 
half-hour  as  he  knew  how ;  and  his  spirits  were  so  plainly 
unaffected  that  the  Zapolya  thought  less  of  Ranata's 
power  to  charm. 

The  rising  voice  of  Molna"r  gave  him  the  excuse  he 
wanted  to  assist  the  Archduchess  in  her  difficult  task. 

"You  are  all  so  tired,"  he  murmured  to  Piroska.  "I 
had  better  talk  to  that  man." 

"The  King  is  quite  mistaken,"  Molnar  was  announc 
ing,  "if  he  believes  that  our  ultimate  idea  in  wishing 
18  273 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

the  universal  use  of  the  Magyar  language  in  our  own 
country  is  to  divide  the  army  against  itself,  or  to  en 
courage  hatred  towards  Austria.  Not  only  does  the 
Constitution  accepted  by  the  King  provide  that  Hun 
garian  soldiers  shall  be  commanded  by  Hungarian  offi 
cers,  but  we  wish  the  language  for  two  reasons — to  fulfil 
more  nearly  a  passionate  national  ideal,  and  because  it 
is  the  fitting  reward  of  a  thousand  years  of  indomitable 
individuality." 

"But  do  you  not  think,"  asked  Fessenden,  "that  pas 
sionate  ideals,  when  carried  to  extreme,  may  degen 
erate  into  mere  vanity?  I  suppose  you  are  not  averse 
from  a  fair-minded  discussion,  so  you  will  not  mind  my 
saying  that  I  think  vanity  is  the  only  rock  on  which 
the  Hungarian  nation  may  split  and  go  to  pieces.  It 
is  a  dominant  trait  in  your  aristocracy,  as  is  evidenced 
by  their  theatrical  and  childish  delight  in  an  ancient  and 
ornate  costume — this  in  a  day  when  the  more  highly 
civilized  a  man  is  the  more  simply  he  dresses.  The  bulk 
of  the  nation  betray  this  itching  vanity  in  its  persist 
ent  struggle  for  things  insignificant  in  themselves,  but 
whose  attainment  would  inflate  its  pride  and  permit  it  to 
exult  over  its  step-children.  If  you  can  prove  to  me  that 
I  am  wrong,  and  that  you  are  possessed  by  a  nobler 
motive  in  this  agitation  for  the  compulsory  use  of  your 
language  throughout  an  army  in  which  there  are  so 
many  Austrians,  Germans,  Roumanians,  Saxons,  Slavo 
nians,  Bulgarians,  and,  above  all,  the  Croats,  who  most 
hate  you,  I  shall  be  glad  to  acknowledge  myself  mis 
taken." 

MolnaVs  eyes  had  flashed.  He  was  vaguely  jealous 
of  the  American,  bitterly  as  he  realized  that  his  disap 
pearance  would  leave  no  field  for  him.  But  he  had 
come  to  the  palace  determined  to  assist  the  cause  of  his 
party,  and  not  only  did  the  quiet  air  of  the  room  and 

274 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

company  depress  his  energy  of  temper,  but  his  deep 
respect  for  the  Archduchess,  and  desire  to  stand  well 
with  her,  would  have  restrained  him  from  a  violent 
outburst.  He  replied  with  a  calm  which  he  was  made 
subtly  aware  his  princess  commended. 

"  It  is  difficult  to  prove  what  is  so  largely  a  matter  of 
standard.  The  Americans  have  so  vast  a  country,  so 
many  liberties  unknown  in  Europe,  but  worthy  of 
emulation,  that  what  seems  the  noble  motive  of  pride  to 
us  may  appear  quite  petty  to  them.  But  after  all,  did 
not  your  country,  when  under  the  heel  of  another  power, 
make  mountains  out  of  many  mole-hills  that  you  would 
laugh  at  now?  You  tax  yourselves  more  heavily  than 
England  ever  taxed  you,  and  it  is  seldom  that  a  voice 
is  raised  in  protest.  The  stamp-tax  after  your  late  war 
is  a  case  in  point.  You  burned  your  British  governors 
in  effigy,  and  now  your  contented  and  prosperous 
people  merely  shrug  their  shoulders  at  the  iniquities  of 
your  bosses,  confident  that  the  country  can  take  care  of 
itself.  The  great  patriotic  virtues  that  were  extolled  a 
hundred  years  ago  in  the  United  States  of  America  are 
passed  by  now  as  a  matter  of  course,  or  their  absence  is 
unnoticed ;  and  I  remember  reading  that  a  large  portion 
of  your  country  in  its  youth  went  quite  hysterical  at 
the  monarchical  proposition  that  Mr.  Washington's  head 
should  appear  on  coins.  But  I  only  wish  to  illustrate 
that  a  young  country  lacking  complete  independence, 
or  fearful  of  losing  that  so  recently  acquired,  is  never 
so  indifferent  to  certain  points  as  a  great  one." 

"  I  admit  all  the  faults  of  my  country  past  and  present, 
but  it  seems  to  me  that  if  the  law  of  progress  means  any 
thing,  it  means  that  a  people  dissatisfied  with  monarch 
ical  government  and  bent  upon  republican  should  take 
warning  and  example  from  the  older  republics — not  act 
as  if  every  page  of  history  had  been  destroyed.  When 

275 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

vanity  stiffens  into  a  monumental  conceit,  as  in  the  case 
of  England  and  ourselves,  it  is  still  bad  enough,  and  has 
its  dangers,  but  at  least  it  is  not  childish,  and  is  the 
result  of  a  developed  strength  that  it  would  be  next  to 
impossible  to  wreck.  But  being  still  weak  as  you  are, 
by  your  constitutional  inferiority  to  Austria,  and  the 
hatred  with  which  you  are  regarded  by  almost  every 
other  division  and  tribe  in  your  share  of  the  Dual 
Monarchy,  it  doubly  behooves  you  to  eliminate  your 
weaknesses.  And,  I  repeat,  vanity  is  the  one  which 
will  prove  most  fatal.  William  played  upon  it  in  a 
masterly  manner;  he  uttered  but  a  few  words  of  flattery, 
he  took  the  trouble  to  learn  but  three  words  of  your 
language,  and  the  nation  wept  tears  of  joy.  I  amuse 
myself  counting  the  number  of  mustaches — particularly 
in  the  army! — that  stand  on  end.  If  it  had  been  the 
tyrant  of  all  the  Russias,  the  momentary  enthusiasm 
would  have  been  the  same,  although  second  thoughts 
would  have  disillusioned  you.  That  an  enlightened  and 
progressive  monarch  chose  to  declare  himself  your  friend, 
no  matter  for  what  purpose  of  his  own,  you  may  count 
as  a  piece  of  good  fortune  which  you  had  done  nothing 
very  especial  to  encourage.  But  do  you  flatter  your 
self  for  a  moment  that  if  William  took  you  over  he  would 
permit  the  universal  substitution  of  any  language  for  his 
own?" 

"I  was  not  of  those  whose  heads  were  turned  by  the 
Emperor  of  Germany,"  snorted  the  Hungarian,  whose 
own  mustache  Nature  had  planted  in  a  most  aggressive 
fashion.  "The  constant  abuse  of  Hungary  by  the  Ger 
man  press,  and  the  attempts  of  propagandists  to  cor 
rupt  German-speaking  Hungarians  and  unite  them  for 
the  propitious  moment  of  rebellion  against  the  country 
their  ancestors  adopted — that  Germany  may  have  a 
weakened  state  to  oppose  her  when  she  is  ready  to  put 

276 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

into  execution  her  designs  on  the  Balkans — those  are 
scores,  sir,  that  an  emperor  cannot  sweep  from  some 
memories  by  flattery.  I  am — since  the  death  of  the  Crown 
Prince — "  He  hesitated  and  looked  at  the  Archduchess. 

"You  are  to  speak  with  perfect  freedom  to-day,"  she 
said  smiling,  and  endeavoring  to  feel  as  political  as  she 
should.  "That  was  the  understanding  when  you  con 
sented  to  come.  Please  believe  that  I  am  listening  im 
personally.  Not  that  I  wish  your  secrets,  merely  your 
well-defined  point  of  view." 

"Then  I  will  say  what  is  well  enough  known,  your 
Royal  Highness  —  that  I  wish  for  no  king  whatever. 
Our  king  is  as  just  and  indulgent  as  his  fixed  notions 
permit  him  to  be,  and  yet  under  him  autonomy  is  a 
failure.  I  wish  for  complete  independence,  with,  if  not 
all  the  features  of  the  United  States  of  America,  at  least 
with  those  which  have  permitted  her  to  exist  in  the  face 
of  all  prophecies;  and  with  many  others  which  we  are 
quite  capable  of  evolving  ourselves.  Independence,  you 
will  not  hesitate  to  admit,  sir,  is  the  only  logical  condi 
tion  for  any  civilized  people  at  this  stage  of  the  world's 
history,  and,  above  all,  it  is  the  only  condition  which 
will  content  the  most  independent  race  in  Europe. 
When  the  hour  of  this  Dual  Monarchy  strikes,  I  am  per 
fectly  willing  that  western  Austria  shall  go  to  Germany, 
provided  that  the  price  of  our  acquiescence  is  the  com 
plete  independence  of  this  country.  If  the  aristocracy 
don't  like  it  they  can  move  to  Prussia;  that  country  is 
badly  in  need  of  a  real  aristocracy,  and  the  fine  clothes 
of  our  magnates  would  be  a  pleasant  relief  among  so 
many  uniforms.  But  for  Hungary,  Independence! — 
Independence ! — Independence !" 

His  voice  ended  in  a  mild  roar ;  and  Fessenden  replied 
in  his  most  matter-of-fact  tones,  "Then  if  you  want 
independence,  why,  I  repeat,  don't  you  begin  now  to 

277 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

strengthen  instead  of  weakening  yourselves?  Surely 
you  must  know  that  if  the  King  granted  this  demand  of 
yours,  completely  to  Magy arize  the  army,  you  would 
incur  the  still  bitterer  hatred  of  all  these  races  who  are 
obliged  to  serve  in  it.  Their  native  tongue  means  as 
much  to  them  as  yours  does  to  you.  And  when  one 
considers  that  three-fourths  of  Hungary  is  ethnological- 
ly  non  -  Hungarian !  If  your  king  were  thirty  years 
younger,  and  you  could  reasonably  feel  that  you  had 
that  amount  of  time  in  which  to  subdue  or  reconcile 
your  rebellious  step-children,  then  one  might  feel  that 
you  had  more  wisdom,  more  reason  on  your  side;  but 
to  strain  at  a  gnat  when  you  must  inevitably  swallow 
a  whole  herd  of  camels  the  moment  your  king  sets  these 
centrifugal  forces  free,  is  a  folly  I  cannot  comprehend 
in  a  race  so  like  my  own  in  many  respects." 

Molndr  had  listened  sullenly,  but  with  attention.  It 
had  been  agreed,  although  all  four  of  the  Hungarians 
were  men  of  ability,  that  the  brunt  of  the  talk  should  be 
borne  by  their  leader;  for  they  were  sure  to  interrupt 
even  each  other  if  they  sent  the  blood  to  their  heads 
with  too  many  words.  But  they  were  neglecting  their 
plates  to  follow  the  argument;  and  they  frowned  when 
Fessenden  spoke,  and  smiled  approval  upon  the  logic  of 
Molndr.  When  the  American  asserted  the  analogy  be 
tween  his  race  and  theirs,  they  looked  pleased  and  sur 
prised;  for  it  is  a  remarkable  fact  that,  in  spite  of  the  ex 
ecration  which  Europeans,  as  a  result  of  our  protective 
policy  and  successful  invasion  of  her  aristocracies  and 
industries,  bestow  upon  the  United  States,  they  are  in 
variably  surprised  into  pleasure  if  informed  that  they 
possess  an  American  trait — which  is  doubtless  owing  to 
the  fact  that  every  human  creature  craves  success;  and 
rightly  or  wrongly,  the  United  States  and  that  most 
vulgarized  of  words  are  synonymous. 

278 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

Even  Molnar  looked  slightly  mollified,  but  he  had 
come  to  make  good  his  cause  before  a  princess  who  he 
believed  must  influence  the  King  her  father,  since  he 
was  convinced  she  could  twist  Hungary  round  her  finger 
if  she  chose.  "It  is  to  be  hoped  that  another  century 
will  see  us  even  in  advance  of  where  the  United  States 
stands  to-day,"  he  replied;  "for,  as  you  justly  observed, 
it  is  our  part  as  an  intelligent  nation  to  profit  by  the 
mistakes  of  other  nations.  But  it  is  impossible  to  ad 
mit  that  we  are  unwise  to  insist  upon  the  adoption  of 
our  language  as  the  sole  language  of  our  army,  even 
in  the  old  age  of  the  King;  for  we  are  convinced  that 
our  disruption  from  Austria  is  but  a  question  of  a  few 
years,  and  it  is  wise  to  accustom  the  inferior  races  to  the 
dominance  of  our  language  and  rule  as  long  before  our 
independence  as  possible.  It  is  our  misfortune  that 
we  have  not  been  in  a  position  to  push  this  claim  sooner. 
It  was  a  tremendous  innovation  when  Kossuth  and 
Szechenyi  carried  their  point  that  Magyar  should  be  the 
political  language  of  Hungary.  It  was  not  the  part  of 
wisdom  to  ask  for  more  then,  but  that  is  half  a  century 
ago — half  a  century.  And  you  call  us  impatient  and 
unreasonable!  You — who  are  so  recently  come  from 
the  battle-field,  do  you  recall  the  passionate  enthusi 
asm  with  which  you  sang  and  listened  to  your  national 
hymns  by  your  camp-fires  at  night — as  you  marched  to 
the  battle-field?  What  would  have  been  your  emotions 
if  you  had  been  compelled  to  sing  the  national  songs  of 
another  country  ?  Good  God !  Cannot  you  understand 
what  it  would  mean  to  us  to  sing  our  own  beautiful  bat 
tle  hymns  in  our  own  beautiful  language,  instead  of  the 
words  of  a  hated  power  in  the  most  hideous  sounds  that 
ever  were  invented  to  torture  the  ear?  It  is  true  that 
you  have  set  your  national  anthem  to  the  tune  of  Eng 
land's,  but  you  have  long  since  forgotten  that;  and  I  am 

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RULERS    OF    KINGS 

told  that  when  Americans  go  to  England  they  are  flat 
tered  when  the  band  plays  'God  Save  the  King.'  But 
that  is  your  happiness — that  you  have  been  permitted 
to  forget — while  we — we — " 

"I  have  no  doubt  that  if  you  asked  for  the  privilege 
of  singing  your  national  hymns,  and  nothing  more,  the 
King  would  readily  indulge  you;  and  the  Hungarian 
military  colleges  you  are  sure  to  have  will  no  doubt 
entail  much  that  you  wish — if  you  have  the  patience  to 
wait.  I  admit,  of  course,  that  vanity  has  no  part  in 
your  desire  to  sing  your  own  anthems  in  your  own  lan 
guage —  what  more  inspiring?  —  but  the  imposing  of 
your  difficult  tongue  on  the  Austrians  who  are  obliged 
to  command  in  your  army  during  the  years  when  you 
must  still  have  an  insufficiency  of  Hungarian  officers, 
as  well  as  upon  the  races  that  hate  you  now,  and  only 
await  the  opportunity  to  serve  you  the  same  trick  they 
served  you  in  1847 — I  repeat,  it  seems  to  me  the  height 
of  vanity  and  folly.  And  I  regret  it  deeply,  for  in  a  strug 
gle  in  which  you  were  incontestably  right,  you  would 
have  the  sympathy  of  the  United  States.  Kossuth  is  by 
no  means  forgotten;  and  the  American  loves  romance, 
having  so  little  of  it.  For  romance  you  stand  in  his 
tory  preeminently.  But  if  you  make  yourselves  ridic 
ulous — 

"Ridiculous?"  All  four  were  muttering.  Ranata 
leaned  forward,  and  drew  MolnaVs  eyes  to  hers. 

"  How  would  it  have  been  if  Rudolf  had  lived?"  she 
asked  softly. 

"  Ah,  Rudolf!"  The  four  men  might  have  received  an 
electric  shock.  "  If  our  crown  prince  had  lived,"  cried 
Molnar,  "  he  would  be  our  sympathetic,  our  indulgent 
ruler  to-day.  The  King  would  surely  have  abdicated 
in  his  favor  before  this  —  if  he  had  been  reluctant  we 
should  have  found  a  way  to  persuade  him!  The  King 

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RULERS    OF    KINGS 

is  preferable  to  his  present  heir;  and  not  only  do  we 
hesitate  to  incur  the  antagonism  of  the  world  by  embit 
tering  the  last  days  of  our  old  monarch,  but  it  is  a  trait 
of  human  nature  to  postpone  the  evil  day.  But  Rudolf! 
He  would  have  granted  our  demands;  and  with  his  tact 
and  resource  have  found  a  way  to  reconcile  all  the  other 
states  in  the  monarchy  to  our  reforms.  Perhaps  he 
would  have  given  us  our  liberty,  and  accepted  the  pres 
idency  of  the  republic!  That  indeed  would  have  been 
Utopia!" 

"No  one  can  admire  and  regret  Rudolf  more  than  I 
do,"  said  Fessenden,  in  the  even  dispassionate  tones 
which  irritated  the  Hungarians  more  than  his  words; 
"but  it  is  impossible  not  to  notice  that  the  inevitable 
legend  is  growing  up  round  his  name.  In  a  few  years  it 
will  obscure  an  individuality  and  a  mental  endowment 
that  were  better  left  unexaggerated.  I  came  on  the  scene 
too  late  to  know  him,  but  I  have  heard  him  much  dis 
cussed  by  more  than  one  of  his  close  personal  friends; 
and  while  he  was  far  more  genial  and  sympathetic  than 
is  common  among  princes,  and  far  more  liberal  and 
broad-minded,  I  do  not  in  the  least  believe  that  he  had 
a  republican  instinct,  or  would  have  parted  voluntarily 
with  an  inch  of  his  inheritance.  Rather  he  would  have 
conceived  it  his  mission  to  maintain  its  integrity  with 
the  last  corps  of  his  army.  No  doubt  his  tact  and  his 
alert  modern  brain  would  have  found  a  way  through 
these  difficulties  which  would  have  satisfied  himself  and 
Hungary.  Problems  that  seem  insoluble  to  an  aged 
king  might  have  been  disentangled  readily  enough  by 
him.  But  the  hard  fact  remains  that  you  have  not 
Rudolf  to  deal  with,  but  your  king — and,  for  a  period 
after  him,  no  doubt,  the  present  Crown  Prince;  so  would 
you  not  be  wiser  to  conciliate  your  enemies  until  you  are 
strong  enough  to  crush  them?  Suppose  Germany  and 

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RULERS    OF    KINGS 

Austria  in  a  war  against  Russia — over  the  Balkans,  let 
us  say — do  you  realize  what  your  position  would  be  as 
an  independent  state  with  all  the  antagonistic  races 
within  your  borders  in  revolt  —  these  races  number 
7,500,000,  nearly  half  your  population,  do  they  not? 
In  some  respects  the  Hungarian  mind  is  the  brightest 
and  most  alert  in  Europe,  and  you  are  probably  the  only 
monarchical  people  wholly  without  servility.  If  you 
wreck  yourselves,  and  this  rich  and  enterprising  coun 
try,  because  you  love  your  weaknesses  more  than  your 
virtues,  then  you  deserve  to  be  crushed  like  an  egg  be 
tween  the  enemies  who  will  take  a  particular  delight  in 
the  process.  But  your  party  does  not  represent  Hun 
gary.  The  enlightened  majority  are  not  extremists. 
You  can  obstruct  and  keep  the  country  in  a  turmoil, 
but  when  it  comes  to  the  general  vote  you  must  be 
beaten.  But  meanwhile  you  are  demoralizing  Hungary 
at  home,  and  making  it  ridiculous  abroad — that  is  the 
point  to  be  considered  now." 

Molnar  pushed  back  his  chair  and  stood  up,  tossing 
back  his  head.  For  the  moment  he  looked  like  the 
statue  of  the  poet  of  the  Revolution,  Alexander  Petofi, 
which,  in  its  square  across  the  river,  seems  to  have 
the  nerves  of  the  dead  man  in  it. 

"You  pay  us  your  cold  tribute,"  he  cried,  "but  what 
do  you  know  of  the  ardor,  the  passionate  enthusiasm 
of  a  race  as  different  from  yours  as  the  Latin  from  the 
Teutonic.  Logic!  We  have  as  much  as  any  men 
when  our  hearts  are  not  on  fire  with  our  wrongs;  but 
we  would  rather  die,  die,  die — be  crushed  like  an  egg, 
if  you  will — than  exist  like  slaves  a  generation  longer." 
He  turned  suddenly  to  Ranata,  his  face  illuminated 
under  its  perpetual  frown.  "You — your  Royal  High 
ness" —  he  cried,  "if  you  were  our  queen  —  you,  who 
look  born  to  sit  on  a  throne  as  wisely  as  Maria  Theresia, 

282 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

yet  without  her  bigotry  and  obstinacy — you,  who  are  so 
like  Rudolf—      Ah!     Why  not?     Why  not?" 

"We  will  have  our  coffee  in  the  next  room,"  said  the 
Archduchess  with  cold  severity,  as  she  rose  and  led  the 
way.  "Ur  Molnar,  have  you  seen  the  river  and  Pest 
from  the  balcony?" 

XXI 

Fessenden  and  Ranata  were  alone  in  the  Hungarian 
house.  Upon  the  departure  of  the  Independents — 
diverted  and  mollified — the  Archduchess  had  dismissed 
her  weary  ladies-in-waiting;  and  Alexandra,  after  wan 
dering  down  to  the  garden  with  her  brother  and  friend, 
had  stolen  away  to  sleep  until  the  hour  to  drive. 

"You  heard!"  said  Ranata.  "Do  you  doubt  now 
that  I  could  be  queen  in  Hungary?" 

"I  never  doubted  it;  nor  that  your  reign  would  be 
as  exciting  as  brief.  Hungary  is  now  enjoying  her  days 
of  halcyon  peace.  When  your  father  dies  she  may  not 
only  have  your  cousin  of  Austria,  and  William,  to  reckon 
with,  but  King  Karl  of  Roumania.  It  is  the  secret  and 
persistent  ambition  of  his  life  to  win  back  to  Roumania 
the  lands  it  claims  it  owned  before  the  conquest  of  Arpad, 
and  one  of  these  is  not  only  Transylvania,  but  Hungary 
as  far  as  the  Theiss.  He  would  join  Austria  in  any 
attempt  to  crush  Hungary,  and  he  would  be  abetted  by 
all  the  internal  enemies  of  this  country.  Moreover,  he 
hates  William  as  only  one  strong  personality  can  hate 
another,  and  at  the  first  call  of  Hungary  for  the  German 
Emperor,  or  for  his  second  son,  he  would  not  wait  for 
Austria.  He  is  a  big  man  in  a  small  country,  and  has 
never  yet  had  his  opportunity;  but  when  it  comes  he 
will  grasp  it,  be  sure  of  that.  But  have  you  not  had 
enough  of  all  this  for  one  day?" 

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RULERS    OF    KINGS 

"Yes — what  a  contrast  you  were!  I  never  so  fully 
realized  the  destiny  of  the  American  race.  Your  brain 
remains  as  cold  as  your  eyes  until  the  right  moment 
comes  to  let  the  fires  leap  up.  And  then!  Tell  me — I 
have  thought  constantly  of  all  that  you  said  last  night — 
it  seems  to  me  that  you  felt  yourself  safe  enough  in 
declaring  that  you  would  sacrifice  everything  for  me — 
ambitions,  fortune,  country  —  because  you  knew  the 
obligation  never  would  confront  you.  It  is  I  who 
would  have  to  renounce  all  and  follow  you.  Aus 
tria  would  expel  us  both,  and  could  do  you  no 
harm." 

"  It  is  you  who  are  most  distressingly  practical  to-day. 
Why  analyze  the  vows  of  a  lover  ?  I  spoke  the  language 
of  the  heart  last  night,  and  my  brain  took  the  rest  it  needs. 
You  were  convinced  of  my  sincerity  then — and  I  am 
quite  prepared  to  say  it  all  over  again."  And  so  he  did; 
but  although  he  could  make  love  with  an  intensity  which 
Ranata  would  be  likely  to  recall  in  long  hours  of  separa 
tion,  he  was  still  able  to  practise  the  better  part  of  valor; 
and  with  the  natural  egotism  of  man,  he  was  soon 
talking  into  a  sympathetic  ear  of  his  hopes  and  plans  for 
the  future.  Never  was  the  egotism  of  man  so  wise  in  its 
exercise.  It  was  the  last  magnet  he  needed  to  draw  the 
soul  of  the  woman  to  him.  As  he  unrolled  his  vast 
schemes,  so  practical  and  so  ideal,  Ranata  forgot  her  own 
conventional  ambitions.  She  seemed  to  herself  to  step 
out  of  a  volume  of  history  and  mingle  in  the  great  throng 
of  individuals,  who  made  their  own  laws  and  thought  for 
themselves. 

"Before  many  years  have  passed,"  said  Fessenden,  "I 
hope  to  have  united  South  America  in  one  great  republic. 
It  is  not  only  necessary  to  protect  my  railways — the 
element  of  personal  selfishness  must  enter  into  every 
thing  that  hopes  to  succeed — but  I  want  to  see  the 

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RULERS    OF    KINGS 

republican  ideal  flourish  over  the  greater  part  of  the 
civilized  globe  before  I  die." 

"And  then?  Shall  you  rule  over  these  vast  re 
publics?" 

"Not  I!  I  shall  have  all  the  work  I  want  while 
creating  them.  There  may  come  the  crisis  in  the 
United  States  which  I  have  been  trained  to  meet,  and 
the  result  might  compel  an  interval  of  strong  centraliza 
tion.  But  the  reconstruction  finished,  those  could  rule 
who  were  equal  to  the  task.  And  such  an  interval 
would  be  brief,  for  the  American  would  not  stand  the 
infringement  of  his  liberties  a  moment  longer  than  cir 
cumstances  demanded.  Although  I  believe  in  perma 
nent,  centralization,  to  the  extent  of  a  ruler  elected  for 
life  or  good  behavior  —  and  I  believe  this  principle  is 
growing  in  the  minds  of  all  thinking  republicans  who 
are  not  only  sick  of  corruption  but  of  seeing  a  fine 
man  in  the  presidential  chair  the  slave  of  politicians,  and 
shelved  coincidently  with  the  full  development  of  his 
usefulness — still  that  ruler  must  be  the  free  and  de 
liberate  selection  of  the  majority  of  the  people,  and  a 
monarch  by  their  will  alone,  with  no  privileges  whatever 
for  his  heirs.  With  democracy  I  have  no  more  patience 
than  with  the  autocracy  of  Russia,  but  I  should  be  the 
last  to  blight  an  instinct  which  it  is  my  desire  to  sow 
broadcast  over  the  earth.  It  is  for  that  I  wish  to  be 
remembered ;  they  can  forget  the  dramas  as  soon  as  they 
like—" 

"Ah,  but  tell  me  those !"  exclaimed  Ranata.  " I  have 
waited  for  years  to  hear  them." 

He  entertained  her  with  several  of  his  adventures  and 
exploits  in  South  America,  but  dropped  the  subject  to 
tell  her  something  of  his  problem  in  mechanics  and  elec 
tricity. 

"If  anything  was  needed  when  I  awoke  at  noon  to- 

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RULERS    OF    KINGS 

day  to  make  me  feel  as  if  I  owned  the  entire  universe," 
he  said,  "it  was  a  letter  from  my  chief  electrician  which 
convinced  me  for  the  first  time  that  he  was  on  the 
verge  of  perfecting  this  old  dream  of  mine.  My  father 
was  to  go  out  as  soon  as  telegraphed  for  and  witness 
the  practical  demonstration.  Then,  indeed,  I  practically 
will  hold  the  fate  of  the  world  in  the  hollow  of  my  hand." 

Ranata  stared  hard  at  him,  her  pulse  quickening.  She 
had  always  envied  him,  and  now  he  seemed  to  her  to 
embody  all  the  hopeful  ambitions  of  all  the  world,  a  Titan 
whom  only  a  new  country  with  its  utter  disregard  of 
failure  could  have  produced.  What  order  of  men  would 
his  republics  bring  forth? 

"But  shall  you  never  have  a  reverse,  never  fail?"  she 
murmured.  "There  is  a  relentless  law  of  compensation 
in  Nature;  surely  you  must  have  your  blows,  your 
bitterness,  like  other  mortals." 

"I  have  already  had  enough  trouble  and  anxiety,  to 
say  nothing  of  hideous  privations,  fatigue,  and  illness  to 
satisfy  Nature  for  the  present.  The  only  blow  that  could 
have  reached  my  heart  before  this  would  have  been  the 
death  of  my  father." 

"Ah!"  she  exclaimed  sharply,  "you  do  love  me — I 
know  how  much!  When  this  is  over,  will  its  memory 
mean  as  much  to  you  as  it  will  to  me?  Will  the  loss 
embitter,  discourage  you?  It  has  seemed  to  me  since 
last  night  that  it  will  mean  too  much  to  me — that  I 
shall  need  more  courage  than  I  possess  to  live  on. 
With  men — with  you?  How  would  it  be,  with  your 
thousand  occupations  where  I  might  not  have  one? 
Oh,  at  least  help  me  to  win  this  country!  I  fear  no 
enemies — nothing  else  on  earth." 

"All  that,"  said  Fessenden,  'is  a  subject  which  I 
positively  refuse  to  discuss  until  these  two  months  are 
up.  All  I  wish  you  to  be  firmly  convinced  of  from  this 

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RULERS    OF    KINGS 

moment — and  you  might  repeat  it  nightly  with  your 
prayers  lest  you  forget  it — is  that,  under  no  possible 
circumstances  short  of  death,  shall  I  give  you  up,  or 
relax  for  a  moment  in  my  determination  to  overcome 
every  obstacle  which  either  you  or  your  father  may  raise. 
The  sooner  you  recognize  me  as  your  destiny  the  better." 


XXII 

When  a  woman  is  groping  about  among  the  mysteries 
of  her  great  passion  she  has  little  to  give  the  world,  and, 
all  the  forces  of  her  being  consuming  her  inwardly,  her 
magnetism  is  diminished.  With  the  average  woman 
this  matters  little — she  merely  bores  her  friends;  but  in 
the  case  of  a  princess,  with  but  a  season  perhaps  at  her 
disposal  within  whose  limits  to  preserve  the  map  of 
Europe,  or  alter  it  to  her  liking,  the  untimely  advent 
of  love  might  blight  her  in  the  very  plethora  of  her 
opportunities.  Ranata  realized  this  danger  after  a 
few  days  of  complete  indifference  to  anything  but  her 
own  thoughts  and  the  presence  of  Fessenden  Abbott, 
discovered  that  she  had  fallen  back  into  the  niche  of 
the  unapproachable  princess,  from  which  only  he  could 
draw  her.  The  moment  she  appreciated  her  condition 
she  roused,  when  in  public,  the  energies  of  her  mind, 
wrenching  it  from  her  inner  life.  A  career  she  was 
determined  to  have ;  and  although  she  could  not  recall  the 
enthusiasm  of  those  first  weeks  in  Hungary,  her  purpose 
was  revitalized  by  the  long  shadows  of  bitterness  and 
despair  which  the  future  cast  back  to  her.  True  to  her 
compact,  she  endeavored  to  eject  that  future  from  her 
imagination,  and  in  greater  part  succeeded,  for  she  had 
more  wisdom  than  most  women,  and  appreciated  the 
priceless  value  of  the  immediate  happiness.  She  was 

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RULERS    OF    KINGS 

content,  and  in  brief  intervals  intensely  happy;  her 
imagination  was  liberated  and  her  power  to  feel  super 
lative.  The  knowledge  that  both  imagination  and 
capacity  for  living  must  prove  her  scourge  hereafter 
but  made  her  cultivate  both  the  more  ardently  while 
briefly  mistress  of  her  fate.  And  the  concentrated 
ardor  of  which  Fessenden  was  capable  in  the  rare  mo 
ments  they  found  alone,  contrasted  with  his  average 
mood  when  he  seemed  to  belong  so  wholly  to  himself, 
fascinated  her  far  more  than  any  constant  evidence  of 
her  consuming  influence  over  him  would  have  done. 
Her  own  powerful  individuality  recognized  the  separate- 
ness  of  his,  and  was  content  to  touch  it  in  fugitive 
moments  only.  The  archaic  poem  of  eternal  oneness 
made  no  appeal  to  her.  Passionate  love  and  loyal 
friendship  she  had  to  offer  in  the  fullest  equipment 
granted  to  mortals,  but  the  development  of  her  own 
individuality  in  its  incorruptible  silences  must  go  on 
forever,  submerged  only  by  the  primal  tides;  and  so 
her  instincts  and  her  endowment  saved  her  from  the 
pursuit  of  that  will-o'-the-wisp  which  most  women  follow 
until  it  hides  in  the  grave.  She  saw  that  Fessenden 
recognized  in  her  this  disunion  of  temperament  and 
personality,  for  although  his  were  the  masculine  limita 
tions  which  deprived  him  of  the  comprehensions  women 
think  they  want,  the  needs  of  his  own  soul  were  too 
great  for  blindness  to  another  that  had  come  so  close. 

Therefore,  Ranata,  although  she  loved  her  hours  of 
solitude  the  more,  and  even  grudged  her  brain  its  sleep, 
reopened  her  windows  to  the  world  before  it  was  too  late. 
She  entertained  frequently,  and  many  of  the  magnates 
gave  superb  entertainments  in  her  honor.  Fessenden, 
Zrinyi,  and  several  other  young  enthusiasts,  arranged 
an  illuminated  fete  on  the  Danube,  and  for  a  few 
moments  she  believed  herself  to  be  a  fairy  princess  on  a 

288 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

fairy  planet.  Every  house,  great  and  small,  on  the 
hills  of  Buda,  burned  its  colored  lights,  and  the  bridges, 
the  islands,  the  boats,  looked  as  if  on  fire  with  the 
souls  of  stars  and  flowers.  The  fireworks  among  the 
ruins  of  the  castle  on  the  height  completed  a  scene  of 
illusion  possible  in  only  three  or  four  cities  of  the  world. 

Her  own  entertainments  were  given  in  no  perfunctory 
fashion.  She  had  one  state  dinner  a  week,  and  small 
dinners  and  luncheons  for  the  better  study  of  the 
Hungarian  character.  There  was  no  theatre  in  the 
palace,  but  she  had  a  stage  erected  in  the  Hall  of 
Ceremonies,  and  Possart  came  from  Munich  to  give  the 
soliloquy  of  Manfred  among  the  snow-fields  of  the  Alps, 
in  what  is  perhaps  the  most  perfect  German  spoken  in 
a  great  empire  where  perfect  German  is  seldom  heard. 
Fremstadt  came  with  him  to  sing  from  "Carmen";  and 
Frau  Schratt  and  other  artists  of  Vienna  were  engaged 
for  the  later  winter.  The  local  poets  were  permitted  to 
declaim,  and  their  emotional  fires  and  abandon  won 
the  English  and  American  guests,  long  divorced  from 
patience  with  drawing-room  inflictions. 

But  the  Hungarians  shone  most  brilliantly  in  music, 
and  there  were  frequent  concerts  in  the  palace,  given 
entirely  by  members  of  the  aristocracy,  which  inspired 
no  comparison  with  professionals.  When  the  Arch 
duchess  found  time  she  went  to  the  theatre  or  opera, 
and  sat  in  the  gala  box,  wearing  her  best  conceived 
gowns,  and  having  taken  care  that  her  intention  should 
be  announced  in  the  morning  newspapers. 

And  so  Budapest  had  its  gay  winter  at  last — a  winter 
that  exceeded  even  longings  and  dreams,  and  made  the 
heart  of  the  tradesman  sing,  and  filled  the  hotels  with 
curious  and  ambitious  visitors.  But  perhaps  the  true 
rapture  dwelt  in  the  pen  of  the  correspondent,  so  long 
driven  in  the  mere  service  of  politics  for  the  casual 
19  289 


RULERS   OP    KINGS 

glance  of  a  world  at  no  pains  to  understand  that  it  might 
yet  be  the  destiny  of  Hungary  to  precipitate  the  great 
convulsion  of  Europe.  These  grateful  gentlemen  quick 
ly  made  Ranata  the  most  famous  woman  on  the  public 
stage.  Her  pictures  were  sold  in  every  capital,  the 
illustrated  weekly  newspapers  presented  her  to  a  delight 
ed  public  in  all  her  available  aspects,  and  girl  reporters 
came  to  Budapest  and  wrote  imaginary  interviews  with 
her  maids. 

No  one  knew  better  than  Ranata  that  this  glitter  and 
tinsel  was  but  the  prelude  to  true  fame,  and  that  without 
the  opportunity  to  prove  her  wisdom  as  a  ruler  she  would 
take  no  place  in  history  outside  the  covers  of  some 
"Book  of  Beauty";  nevertheless  she  found  the  notoriety 
and  incense  sweet  after  her  long  monotonies,  and  her 
pride  was  deeply  gratified  with  the  unequivocal  success 
of  her  first  programme.  She  would  have  been  more 
satisfied  if  she  could  have  had  proof  of  the  jealous  un 
easiness  of  William  of  Germany ;  and  more  secure  if  the 
state  of  mind  of  the  Crown  Prince  of  Austria  and  Hun 
gary  could  have  been  revealed  to  her.  But  if  Fessenden 
corresponded  with  his  friend  he  made  no  confidences; 
and  neither  her  father  nor  Count  von  Konigsegg  men 
tioned  her  cousin  in  their  letters,  although  they  appeared 
to  commend  her  course. 

But  to  Ranata's  surprise  and  occasional  alarm,  she 
frequently  discovered  that  her  imagination  dwelt  less 
on  her  future  in  history  than  on  the  great  schemes  of 
Fessenden  Abbott,  and  that  her  thoughts  were  far  more 
occupied  with  their  unique  and  interesting  details  than 
with  the  future  complexities  of  Europe,  which  long  since 
had  acquired  the  habit  of  repeating  themselves.  Gone 
were  the  hours  when  she  had  striven  to  untangle  the  web 
of  her  empire's  future,  to  fit  herself  for  every  imaginable 
contingency.  When  -her  womanhood  took  its  temporary 

290 


RULERS    OF    KINGS' 

rest,  her  brain  was  far  more  apt  to  dwell  upon  some  point 
that  was  puzzling  Fessenden.  She  reminded  herself 
that  this  may  have  been  the  result  of  their  daily  con 
versations,  his  abrupt  confidential  asides;  and  believed 
she  might  assure  herself  that  when  the  spell  was  re 
moved  her  interest  in  subjects  so  foreign  to  all  in  her 
previous  twenty-eight  years  wrould  vanish  with  the 
sweetness  of  life. 

But  they  were  not  foreign  to  everything,  she  sud 
denly  reminded  herself.  There  was  Alexandra !  Would 
this  sense  of  intimacy  with  the  brother  have  descended 
upon  her  so  quickly,  even  with  the  assistance  of  love, 
had  it  not  been  preceded  by  that  other  long  intimacy? 
How  deep  had  the  influence  of  this  American  sunk? 
What  changes  had  it  perhaps  wrought  in  her  character 
during  those  eighteen  years  of  almost  constant  mental 
friction,  beginning  when  her  mind  was  plastic,  and  al 
ways  making  her  chief  interests  in  life?  Nothing  is 
more  difficult  than  to  concentrate  the  mind  in  self-anal 
ysis,  self-examination;  the  children  of  the  experience 
resent  the  scientific  probing  of  the  mind  and  hide  in  the 
shadowy  deeps.  Ranata  was  forced  to  recur  to  the 
subject  abruptly,  to  glimpse  her  mental  layers  by  flash 
light.  It  was  difficult  even  then  to  make  sure  what 
tracings  had  been  done  by  an  alien  hand,  much  less  to 
imagine  just  what  she  would  have  been  had  that  hand 
been  withheld;  but  finally  she  learned  enough  to  cause 
her  moments  of  deep  uneasiness,  grave  doubts  if  she 
were  so  inviolate  a  Hapsburg  as  she  had  believed;  and 
when  she  realized  there  had  been  intervals  when  her 
emancipated  and  now  rebellious  imagination  had  trans 
ported  her  to  the  American  continent,  where  she  moved 
with  the  assurance  and  the  vivid  sense  of  freedom  of 
the  American  girl,  she  shrank  in  terror,  as  if  already 
she  had  taken  a  traitorous  and  irrevocable  step.  She 

291 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

had  always  been  convinced  that  she  should  find  all 
things  in  the  American  section  of  America  quite  detest 
able,  from  their  very  unlikeness  to  all  things  sanctified 
by  the  traditions  of  Europe ;  but  now  she  emerged  from 
visions  of  herself  penetrated  with  happiness  in  a  roman 
tic  wilderness  of  mountain  and  forest,  or  in  cities  which 
epitomized  that  wonderful  modern  life  which  seemed 
to  relegate  the  old  to  boards  and  calf -skin.  There  were 
times  when  she  actually  felt  the  rush  and  fever  of  the 
life  in  her  veins.  It  was  then  that  she  turned  her  mind 
to  Hungary.  She  had  been  deeply  gratified  to  learn 
that  on  the  greater  portion  of  the  Left,  William  had 
made  no  impression,  except  to  deepen  their  hatred  and 
distrust  of  Germany.  That  this  enthusiastic  and  oft- 
times  desperate  party  was  being  secretly  drawn  to  her 
standard,  Ranata  was  not  long  discovering.  For  a 
time,  at  least,  they  would  accept  a  queen  where  they 
would  reject  a  king,  and  their  susceptible  natures  inclined 
them  naturally  towards  a  young  and  beautiful  ruler 
whom  they  could  love,  and,  no  doubt,  manage;  while 
she  added  to  their  picturesque  strength  in  the  eyes  of 
the  world.  Ranata  was  aware  that  the  new  thought 
was  travelling  silently;  and  while  trembling  lest  it  reach 
Vienna,  she  dared  not  notice  it  sufficiently  to  demand 
prudence.  The  part  must  be  thrust  upon  her,  not  only 
to  save  her  in  the  eyes  of  Europe,  but  the  lightest  hint 
of  ambition  from  her  would  have  alarmed  the  Indepen 
dents  and  turned  their  admiration  to  contempt. 

There  were  times  during  this  strange  interlude  in  her 
life  when  she  was  possessed  by  a  sensation  of  supreme 
joy,  or  by  deep  and  tranquil  happiness — moments  when 
she  paced  the  terrace  alone  on  brilliant  mornings  in  a 
tumult  of  wonder,  when  Budapest,  beautiful  enough, 
was  glorified,  and  the  links  binding  her  to  the  mundane 
were  dissolved.  In  such  moments  she  neither  analyzed 

292 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

nor  speculated,  she  but  intensely  lived;  but  when  they 
had  passed,  she  wondered  if  such  ideally  pagan  mo 
ments  were  prophetic  of  greater  happiness,  or  if  they 
were  peculiar  to  that  antechamber  of  the  unknown  which 
is  the  .prelude  in  love.  The  possibility  depressed  her, 
and  at  other  times  she  suffered  sharply.  If  Fessenden 
carelessly  laid  his  arm  about  Alexandra's  shoulders  or 
took  her  hand,  satisfied  in  the  masculine  fashion  with 
what  happened  to  be  convenient  at  the  moment,  Ranata 
would  turn  cold  with  jealousy  and  disgust  with  life.  As 
she  was  too  proud  to  protest — or  explain — she  punished 
the  bewildered  offender  with  a  freezing  demeanor,  and 
both  were  miserable  for  several  days.  The  reconcilia 
tion,  however,  enshrined  the  misery  in  a  halo  of  grati 
tude.  Her  jealousy  was  purely  impersonal,  and  induced 
no  alteration  in  her  attitude  towards  Alexandra.  It 
was  not  the  object  but  the  apparent  wandering  of  his 
affections  that  concerned  her,  and  the  physical  manifes 
tation.  She  took  for  granted  that  he  loved  his  sister — 
would  have  thought  him  deficient  in  human  nature  if 
he  had  not.  But  that  sort  of  relation  was  passive;  the 
active  he  had  entered  upon  embraced  her  alone.  Like 
other  women  in  love,  she  was  constantly  making  discov 
eries  about  herself;  and  when,  one  day,  alone  with  her 
thoughts,  she  found  herself  overwhelmed  and  dissolved 
in  a  transport  of  maternal  tenderness  for  the  man  to 
whom  ultimately  she  could  be  nothing,  she  realized  for 
the  first  time  how  far  love  had  carried  her.  This  was 
towards  the  end  of  the  interlude;  and  soon  after,  even 
the  uneasiness  of  this  discovery  was  forgotten  in  the 
haunting  dismay  which  preceded  the  end. 

Meanwhile  Zrinyi  was  manifestly  impatient  that  the 
visit  should  be  made  to  his  castle  in  the  Transylvanian 
Alps  before  the  full  rigors  of  winter  should  compel  an 
indefinite  postponement.  So  far,  the  winter  was  mild, 

293 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

and  the  snow  on  the  lower  Alps  not  so  heavy  that  oxen 
could  not  draw  the  sledges  up  the  steep  mountain  roads. 
Ranata,  welcoming  a  few  days'  release  from  the  world, 
and  greater  freedom,  set  the  date;  and  it  was  arranged 
that  the  party  should  consist  only  of  her  ladies,  Alexan 
dra,  Fessenden  Abbott,  and  Prince  Illehazy.  They  were 
to  linger  long  enough  in  Klausenbourg,  Kronstadt,  and 
the  intervening  villages,  to  give  the  inhabitants  a 
glimpse  of  their  princess,  and  an  opportunity  to  offer 
the  ovation  which  once  had  been  their  joy  to  give  to 
Rudolf. 

XXIII 

When  one  is  standing  in  a  window  looking  down  into  a 
gorge  a  thousand  feet  below,  the  cynical  reflections  of  a 
mummy  in  bed  smoking  a  cigar  vex  the  impulse  of  ro 
mance,  quick  in  the  brain.  Ranata  was  in  the  window. 
The  window  was  Zrinyi's;  so  was  the  perpendicular 
mountain  of  which  the  old  border  fortress  might  have 
been  an  abrupt  continuation,  so  indeed  were  the  harsh 
wild  peaks,  bare  but  for  the  glittering  snow,  which  rose 
high  above  this  lofty  height.  The  mummy  was  Sarolta, 
who  was  in  bed  with  a  cold.  The  invasion  of  her  sacred 
person  by  impertinent  microbes  always  put  her  in  a  bad 
humor,  and  to-day  it  urged  her  to  improve  one  of  her 
rare  solitudes  with  her  royal  charge.  Moreover,  she 
was  profoundly  puzzled.  If  Ranata  was  not  in  love 
with  this  American,  why  then  did  she  show  him  a 
preference  never  before  won,  for  a  moment,  by  another 
admirer?  But  if  she  were  in  love,  why  then  this  seren 
ity?  She  had  expected  that  Ranata's  inevitable  love 
episode  would  be  fraught  with  tragedy  from  the  very 
first,  and  that  pallid  cheeks  and  heavy  eyes  would  be 
the  visible  signs,  haughtily  as  the  Princess  might  com- 

294 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

port  herself.  Had  the  heroine  been  any  one  but  Ranata 
she  might  have  drawn  a  characteristic  deduction  from 
this  serenity ;  but  although  she  was  not  the  European  to 
swear  to  the  virtue  of  any  woman,  she  knew  that  Ranata, 
if  not  bigot edly  virtuous,  was  bigotedly  loyal  to  her 
house,  and  had  long  since  made  her  vow  that  by  no  act 
of  hers  should  another  of  its  stones  be  loosened;  rather 
was  she  exalted  by  the  hope  that  it  might  be  her  destiny 
to  save  it  from  destruction.  And  Sarolta,  who  had  set 
tled  back  comfortably  into  her  early  doctrine  that  life 
was  made  to  live,  could  have  gone  to  the  stake  herself 
for  the  aristocratical  or  the  monarchical  ideal.  There 
fore,  she  believed  that  Ranata  would  immolate  her  pas 
sion  on  this  altar  the  moment  it  burned  too  fiercely ;  and 
so,  after  all,  was  prepared  to  take  her  oath  upon  the 
virtue  of  one  woman.  Nevertheless,  she  was  curious.  Of 
the  compact,  of  course,  she  knew  nothing;  and  had  she, 
"still  would  she  have  puzzled,  knowing  the  power  and  the 
will  of  woman  to  torment  herself;  but  she  had  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  it  was  possible  Ranata,  never  having 
seen  Fessenden  alone — this  the  good  lady  also  believed 
— did  not  wholly  realize  her  condition,  would  not  until 
he  left  her;  so  determined  to  do  what  she  could  in  the 
way  of  preliminary  disenchantment. 

"There  is  no  greater  fallacy,"  she  was  saying,  "than 
the  belief  that  women  regret  their  youth — I  mean  wom 
en  who  have  lived  the  life  of  the  heart.  Nature  invari 
ably  compensates,  and  in  exchanging  wisdom  for  youth 
she  is  at  her  best.  No  woman  ever  crowded  more  into 
her  youth — nor  held  to  it  longer — than  I  did,  yet  I  can 
recall  now  the  sensation  of  relief  when  I  finally  realized 
that  henceforth  I  should  live  for  myself  alone;  above 
all,  that  I  had  had  my  final  disappointment.  For  love, 
my  dear,  is  one  exquisite  disappointment  from  first  to 
finish — for  the  woman,  I  mean.  Men  are  rarely  psy- 

295 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

chological  enough  for  the  disappointments  that  grind 
the  heart  of  woman  until  it  is  callous.  When  they  are, 
they  are  not  able  to  hurt  us,  so  may  be  left  out  of  the 
question.  The  thoroughly  masculine  man,  the  only  sort 
that  is  capable  of  inspiring  the  grande  passion,  because 
he  has  the  primal  attributes  designed  by  Nature  that 
he  may  fully  mate  with  woman,  is  in  the  very  complete 
ness  of  his  equipment  blind  to  all  that  is  most  subtle 
and  feminine  in  woman,  giving  her,  therefore,  twenty 
strokes  of  torment  to  one  of  happiness,  or  even  pleasure. 
What  is  the  result?  We  live,  the  most  irresistible  of  us, 
three-fourths — five-eighths — of  our  lives  alone,  striving 
to  find  in  imagination  what  man  will  never  give  us.  Life, 
with  women  who  are  not  small  pieces  of  pulp  in  the  do 
mestic  mill,  is  one  long  chase  after  happiness — what  is 
there  for  most  of  us  but  happiness,  politics,  and  charities  ? 
I  have  sometimes  envied  the  women  who  have  to  work 
their  brains  blunt  to  fill  their  conservative  little  stom 
achs!" 

Her  voice  thickening,  she  paused  to  inhale  the  fumes 
of  the  last  specific  for  colds.  Ranata  continued  to  stare 
out  of  the  window,  and  her  duenna  continued  in  a 
moment : 

"  But  I  have  also  wondered,  ma  chere,  if,  did  man  give 
us  what  that  craving  thing  we  call  our  soul  demands, 
would  we  enjoy  ourselves  even  as  much  as  we  do.  It 
is  always  a  gamble  which  will  tire  first,  the  man  or  the 
woman;  and  on  the  whole  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that 
the  woman  of  charm  and  brain,  and  the  position  in  life 
which  enables  her  to  find  much  distraction,  is  the  surer 
prey  to  disenchantment.  If  she  be  of  a  deeper  nature, 
or  if  she  has  deluded  herself  for  a  little  that  the  man 
actually  loved  her  and  not  himself,  she  may  not  tire, 
but  be  so  bitterly  disgusted  and  disillusioned  that,  for  a 
moment,  at  least,  she  is  capable  of  tragedy.  But  the 

296 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

average  man,  so  particular  with  charm  at  first,  merely 
lets  us  down  in  ennui.  If  he  gave  woman  more  of  him 
self  than  he  does  now,  perhaps  she  would  tire  sooner. 
He  needs  all  the  mystery  he  has.  However,  the  fact 
remains  that  man  is  eternally  unsatisfactory  and  wom 
an  eternally  unsatisfied.  I  doubt  if  a  woman  of  im 
agination  ever  lived  who,  having  won  what  rent  her 
soul  and  body  while  withheld,  would  not,  after  the  first 
short  chapter,  exchange  the  reality  for  the  previous 
lost  world  of  her  imagination.  Good  God!  the  dis 
illusionment,  the  readjustment,  the  struggle  through 
terror  and  despair  to  philosophy !  If  I  were  ordered  to 
live  my  life  over,  I  should  demand,  in  compensation,  the 
ever-fresh  memory  of  a  great  and  unsatisfied  passion 
— after  having  known  one  man  in  the  daily  life  of 
matrimony.  A  woman  is  briefly  happy  twice  in  her 
life  —  when  a  man  —  the  man  —  is  pursuing  her,  and 
palpitating  doubt  alternates  with  delicious  certainty; 
and  again,  during  the  man's  first  ardor,  when  he  is  so 
anxious  to  please,  and  so  certain  that  he  loves  the 
woman,  not  himself,  that  his  conceritrated  charm  blinds, 
yet  irradiates  the  universe.  Shortly  after,  he  becomes 
as  matter-of-fact  as  he  is.  And  then  men  are,  no  matter 
what  their  brains,  utterly,  irretrievably  stupid  where 
women  are  concerned.  A  man  is  never  so  happy  as 
when  he  has  lost  the  love  of  the  woman,  and  she,  taking 
refuge  in  duty,  makes  him  thoroughly  comfortable. 
On  the  other  hand,  men  are  abruptly  left  by  women, 
again  and  again,  and  the  cleverest  of  them  never  guess 
the  reason  why.  They  go  on  ruining  their  own  lives — 
which  they  never  suspect— and  those  of  the  women  best 
worth  having,  without  learning  a  lesson  from  the  past. 
There  is  no  happiness,  my  dear,  until  you  are  as  old 
as  I  am,  look  like  a  mummy,  and  smoke  vuelta  abajo." 
"  Of  course  I  recognize  that  all  that  was  meant  for  me." 
297 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

Her  charge  left  the  window  and  stared  down  at  her. 
She  puffed  out  a  cloud,  for  Ranata's  eyes  always  made 
her  blink.  "But  I  am  surprised  that  a  woman  of  your 
wisdom  should  fancy  that  the  person  ever  lived  who 
would  adjust  his  life  by  the  experience  of  another." 

"You  have  a  brain.  Most  women  have  not.  You  will 
always  be  more  or  less  guided  by  it.  Therefore,  you 
are  worth  the  trouble  to  warn." 

"You  are  the  last  person  I  should  have  expected  to 
advocate  the  happiness  of  the  unknown;  but  I  have 
thought  that  out  for  myself,  and  more  than  once.  I 
believe  that  the  only  way  a  woman  can  avoid  the  curse 
of  her  sex  is  to  avoid  the  fulfilment  of  love.  Then  the 
fates  are  placated,  and,  after  the  first  wrench,  permit 
the  imagination  a  certain  happiness,  the  soul  a  certain 
elevation,  no  doubt  impossible  in  what  must  eventually 
become  prosaic  and  disappointing." 

' '  I  am  not  surprised  that  you  have  arrived  at  that 
truth  by  yourself;  and  be  sure  that  all  the  troubles  in 
the  world  amount  to  little  if  you  can  bear  them  alone, 
and  that  no  troubles,  barring  poverty  and  pain,  count 
an  infinitesimal  speck  in  the  balance  with  those  made 
by  love,  or  the  desperate  attempt  to  find  happiness. 
Indeed,  I  will  modify  what  I  said  just  now,  and  stake 
my  life  that  a  woman  is  happy  only  when  she  is  not  in 
love.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  sympathy  between 
the  soul  of  man  and  woman.  The  man  who  thinks  he 
sympathizes  with  a  woman's  subtle  wants  is  a  milksop. 
The  other,  the  only  sort  we  love,  doesn't  try,  never 
thinks  about  it;  and  either  way  we  are  miserable, 
having  the  primal  curse  of  Eve  upon  us.  So,  the 
old  maids,  or  the  quickly  widowed,  have  the  best  of  it 
in  this  life.  Doubtless  things  are  better  arranged  in 
another." 

"Perhaps  in  that  we  will  be  born  without  imagination. 

298 


RULERS     OF    KINGS 

I  don't  know  but  that  would  be  the  deepest  definition  of 
heaven  after  all." 

"  I  think  it  more  likely  that  in  alternate  existences  the 
man  of  one  is  the  woman  of  another,"  said  Sarolta  dryly. 
"That  would  be  Nature  and  her  compensations  as  we 
know  them.  On  the  whole  she  is  just." 


XXIV 

Fessenden  was  walking  restlessly  about  the  hall  of  the 
castle,  awaiting  the  finish  of  Ranata's  visit  of  duty  at  the 
bedside  of  her  duenna.  There  was  a  prospect,  for  the 
first  time  in  several  days,  of  an  hour  with  her  alone. 
Zrinyi,  Prince  Illehazy,  Vilma,  and  Alexandra  had  gone 
for  a  walk,  and  Piroska  had  not  been  seen  that  day. 

They  had  arrived  two  days  before,  after  three,  in  a 
special  train  with  many  pauses  and  no  solitudes,  and 
until  now  had  been  a  gay  and  united  party.  Alexandra 
had  announced  herself  satisfied  with  the  castle;  but 
as  her  tone  had  been  frivolous,  Zrinyi  had  forborne  to 
press  his  suit.  The  roughness  of  the  old  days  of  border 
warfare  was  curiously  blended  with  the  modern  com 
forts  of  a  nobleman's  hunting  -  lodge.  The  staircase, 
towards  which  Fessenden  directed  eyes  of  impatient 
longing,  looked  as  if  no  woman  had  ever  descended  it, 
although  many  women  had  huddled  there  when  the 
Turkish  guns  were  battering.  The  logs  in  the  old 
fireplace,  and  the  big  ornamental  stones  which  have 
superseded  andirons  in  the  greater  part  of  Europe, 
tempered  the  ancient  cold;  the  rough  walls  and  floors 
were  covered  with  the  skins  of  wild  beasts  and  other 
trophies  of  the  chase;  and  the  chairs  at  least  were 
comfortable.  The  hall  was  a  museum  of  old  battle- 
flags,  captured  from  the  Turks,  Austrians,  rival  clans 

299 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

in  the  days  of  the  Oligarchs,  and  of  weapons  as  old 
and  varied.  The  castle  was  very  large,  and  had  been 
surrounded  on  three  sides  by  a  double  moat;  but  to 
former  implements  of  war  it  had  been  impregnable, 
and  the  unsquandered  wealth  of  the  family  had  kept 
every  part  of  it  from  decay  except  the  entrance  wall. 
Fessenden  thought  it  an  admirable  setting  for  a  honey 
moon;  failing  that,  for  a  few  days'  final  courtship. 

But  his  patience,  never  a  gift  of  Nature,  but  a  creation 
of  his  will,  was  close  upon  its  finish,  and  the  day  he 
left  Budapest  he  had  set  his  train  in  motion.  Only  his 
habit  of  playing  a  close  and  far-seeing  game  had  saved 
him  from  some  precipitate  act  which  might  have  wrecked 
his  hopes;  for  the  blood  was  often  in  his  head.  Whether 
or  not  Mr.  Abbott  had  had  such  a  crisis  as  this  in  mind 
when  he  trained  his  son  in  the  qualities  that  conquer, 
in  no  other  way  had  they  served  Fessenden  so  well. 
He  was  pitting  his  wit  and  his  wealth  against  the 
mightiest  prejudice  which  existed  in  the  world  of  his 
day;  and  his  victory  over  Ranata  must  spring  solely 
from  the  former,  for  without  it  her  love  would  avail 
him  nothing.  Had  he  been  able  to  conquer  her  preju 
dices  by  any  of  the  arts  of  love  or  passion  he  would 
have  urged  a  flight  from  this  castle — which  was  far  from 
communication  with  the  telegraph,  and  where  the  sym 
pathetic  Zrinyi  would  have  kept  guardians  and  spies 
imprisoned — to  Trieste,  where  his  yacht  awaited  him. 
But  he  knew  that  Ranata,  although  capable  of  a  revolu 
tion  which  would  raze  the  first  wall  between  them,  must 
accomplish  that  revolution  in  solitude  and  despair,  under 
the  pressure  of  circumstances  which  he  had  already 
shaped.  The  demolishment  of  the  second  wall  might 
cost  him  something  almost  as  dear  as  the  woman,  but 
Fessenden  was  prepared  to  sacrifice  more  than  that. 

Fortunate  for  the  great  affairs  of  the  house  of  Abbott, 
300 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

that  the  senior  was  particularly  well  at  this  time!  The 
heir,  for  all  his  self-control,  was  in  a  state  of  mind  which, 
had  he  been  compelled  to  return — and  nothing  short  of 
his  father's  death  or  a  financial  panic  would  have  drawn 
him  across  the  seas — would  have  lost  him  the  faith  of 
Wall  Street. 

Since  his  violent  attack  of  calf-love  and  the  strange 
illuminations  which  had  succeeded  it,  he  had  looked  upon 
woman  with  a  critical  eye,  and  treasured  his  inmost  feel 
ings  with  a  jealous  care.  Never  again,  he  had  determined 
long  since,  would  he  go  through  that  futile  agony  at  the 
instance  of  anything  less  than  death ;  when  he  found  the 
one  woman  whom  he  could  love  more  than  his  life  or  his 
ambitions — or  as  well — then  would  he  pour  all  he  had 
husbanded  at  her  feet;  but  he  would  have  her  unless 
the  Almighty  himself  intervened.  Busy  as  was  his  life, 
he  had  been  sharply  aware  of  its  incompleteness;  there 
had  been  many  hours  of  longing  for  the  deep  compan 
ionship  of  love,  for  the  perfection  of  his  own  soul  and 
manhood.  The  vague  ideal  of  his  dreams  he  had  not 
recognized  in  Ranata's  physical  part  when  they  met  in 
the  cottage,  his  sense  of  adventure  being  keener  than 
any  vital  longing,  and  the  fury  of  the  dance  excluding 
mental  knowledge  of  his  partner.  But  he  had  discov 
ered  her  not  long  after;  and  the  great  measure  that  he 
had  to  offer  of  homage  and  love  and  passion  had  since 
burned  steadily;  with  a  less  strong  brain  the  flame 
would  have  been  less  steady,  and  the  rare  moments  of 
solitude  with  her,  and  their  temptations,  might  have  over 
whelmed  him:  he  had  never  imagined  a  woman  who 
could  so  crowd  into  a  moment  the  concentrated  essence 
of  all  the  melting  tenderness  and  the  passionate  energy 
that  made  up  the  surrender  of  woman.  It  is  true  that 
more  than  once  the  temptation  had  assailed  him  to  use 
her  weakness  as  the  shortest  way  out  of  the  difficulties 

301 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

that  beset  him ;  but  not  only  had  he  so  far  never  taken 
advantage  of  any  one  but  a  scoundrel,  and  did  he  still 
hold  women  in  an  old-fashioned  reverence,  but  he  fore 
cast  the  weeks  —  perhaps  months  —  asunder,  when 
in  desperation  she  might  marry  any  prince  her  father 
selected.  And  in  his  cooler  moments  he  tingled  at  the 
thought  of  a  victory  which  would  be  as  great  for  his 
young  country  as  for  himself,  of  being  the  chosen  instru 
ment  to  initiate  a  new  order  of  things  as  inevitable  as 
the  progress  of  the  world.  Romantic  as  he  was,  the 
campaign  he  had  planned — where  the  only  weapons 
should  be  his  own  wit  and  the  millions  which  the  world, 
with  its  curious  love  of  self-delusion,  affects  to  despise, 
typifying  as  they  do  modern  life  itself — appealed  to 
him  more  powerfully  than  a  flight  across  a  picturesque 
country  of  many  costumes  to  his  yacht,  or  a  rescue  from 
the  palace  of  Buda.  But  at  present  he  was  not  rehears 
ing  his  plan  of  campaign;  the  coming  moment  com 
manded  his  imagination,  and  the  blood  was  beginning 
to  pound  in  his  cars  when  he  heard  the  light  rustle  of  her 
garments.  He  sprang  up  the  stairs  and  met  her  on 
the  first  landing. 

"Not  here!"  she  said  nervously.  "Sarolta  is  in  bed, 
and  Piroska  has  a  toothache;  but  who  knows?" 

"Has  it  ever  occurred  to  you  that  the  Countess 
Piroska  is  a  spy?"  he  asked  as  they  crossed  the  hall  to 
the  room  Zrinyi  called  his  study,  although  it  had  not  a 
book  in  it. 

"Possibly,"  said  Ranata  indifferently.  "We  are  ac 
customed  to  spies.  That  is  usually  one  of  the  duties  of 
the  Obersthofmeisterin.  But  as  Sarolta  is  too  wealthy 
to  be  bought,  and  is  of  a  proved  fondness  for  me,  I  sup 
pose  Count  von  Konigsegg  thought  it  wise  to  have  one 
in  my  household  he  could  count  on.  I  doubt  if  she  has 
made  any  report  of  consequence  so  far,  for  she  has  bided 

302 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

her  time,  hoping  that  the  worst  would  happen;  but  she 
will,  for  she  wants  to  marry  you.  But  it  will  matter  lit 
tle  now!  Our  time  is  almost  up!" 

She  spoke  in  a  tone  of  profound  dejection.  The  seren 
ity  she  had  maintained  in  Sarolta's  presence  had 
dropped  from  her  like  a  mask.  In  a  moment  she  with 
drew  from  his  embrace  and  leaned  against  the  window- 
frame  and  stared  down  into  the  ravine  where  so  many 
Turks  had  mouldered  to  dust. 

"It  is  time  for  the  comedy  to  end,"  she  said  sharply. 
"Sarolta  knows,  and  before  long  will  interfere.  Kon- 
igsegg  is  sure  to  interrogate  Piroska  before  long,  if  he 
has  not  done  so  already,  and  there  must  be  many  com 
ments  in  Budapest  and  Vienna  on  your  long  stay  here 
and  your  constant  presence  in  the  palace.  Moreover, 
it  is  impossible  you  should  remain  away  from  America 
much  longer.  The  two  months  you  set  yourself  have 
nearly  passed.  Let  us  talk  plainly.  My  capacity  for 
self-deception  is  at  an  end — indeed,  for  days  past  it  has 
slipped  from  me  again  and  again — and  I  am  worried 
about  many  other  things — " 

"What  things?"  asked  Fessenden  gently.  He  gath 
ered  his  faculties  and  stood  looking  at  her,  from  the 
other  side  of  the  narrow  window,  with  his  piercing  and 
concentrated  glance;  but  he  took  her  hand  and  held  it 
tenderly.  "At  least,  if  we  are  soon  to  part,  let  there  be 
as  little  to  regret  as  possible.  You  owe  me  your  con 
fidence — nor  is  there  any  one  else  to  whom  you  would 
give  it." 

"Oh!"  she  exclaimed.  "That  is  true  enough!  To 
no  other  have  I  ever  been  as — been  frank  at  all.  No 
one  else  has  ever  known  me,  nor  ever  can.  It  has  given 
me  the  most  intellectual  and  voluptuous  delight  fully  to 
reveal  myself  for  once  in  my  life — I  suppose  I  do  not  yet 
realize  how  much.  After  all,  why  should  I  complain? 

303 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

I  have  had  what  most  women  never  find.  And  I  have 
that  sense  of  the  indestructible  bond.  I  shall  have  it  as 
long  as  I  live.  How  many  that  flutter  over  this  earth, 
do  you  suppose,  have  that  sense  of  an  everlasting  indis 
soluble  embrace?  You  feel  it  now.  Will  you?  Will  it 
content  you — that  sense  of  spiritual  completeness — can 
you  be  faithful  to  that?" 

"I  should  be  very  grateful  for  it  if  I  could  not  find 
anything  better,  and  I  am  as  capable  of  complete  fidel 
ity  as  you  are.  But  tell  me  what  other  things  have  wor 
ried  you." 

"  It  is  this — "  Her  rising  excitement  flashed  the  blood 
into  her  face,  and  she  pushed  her  unsteady  hand  into  her 
hair,  lifting  it,  as  if  its  weight  oppressed  her.  "  In  these 
weeks  that  have  slipped  along  so  easily,  so  naturally,  in 
which  we  have  found  so  much  happiness,  I  have — I  had 
grown  as  accustomed  to  it  all  as  any  engaged  girl.  My 
imagination  seemed  to  sleep,  or  only  to  give  me  to  you 
in  the  future.  Nothing  in  me  protested,  warned,  ex 
cept  a  mechanical  effort  of  intellect.  It  all  seemed  the 
most  natural  thing  in  the  world.  I  thought  when  I  en 
tered  into  that  compact  that  I  should  lead  a  dual  mental 
life;  or  rather  that  I  should  be  wholly  yours  when  with 
you,  and  wholly  myself  when  alone,  fully  alive  to  the  end. 
But  I  have  been  wholly  yours  when  alone,  and  as  wholly 
oblivious  of  the  future.  And  that  is  not  all.  It  needed 
only  you  and  what  you  brought  me  to  fill  me  with 
a  joyous  abandon  of  liberty  such  as  a  man  might  feel 
who  saw  and  could  walk  alone  for  the  first  time.  I  had 
felt  something  of  this  before  you  came,  for  the  sudden 
change  from  prison  to  a  comparative  freedom  almost 
turned  my  head;  but  since  you — who  breathe  liberty, 
who  typify  it,  who  seem  to  exhale  the  very  essence  of 
your  wonderful  young  country — you  who  fear  no  one! 
who  fear  no  one! — Am  I  still  myself?  Am  I,  Fessenden  ? 

3°4 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

That  is  the  thought,  that  has  tortured  me  these  last  few 
days — am  I  unfaithful  in  some  subtle  way  to  my  house, 
to  myself,  to  the  future,  to  Europe,  to  all  that  slaves 
born  in  the  purple  should  be  most  steadfast  to  ?  Rudolf 
may  have  been  weak,  but  he  killed  himself  in  a  moment 
when  he  was  mad  with  his  loathing  of  life  and  the  meth 
ods  by  which  he  had  sought  to  forget  it ;  but  he  was  in 
capable  of  deserting  his  post  deliberately,  and  if  his  mind 
could  have  been  occupied  by  the  duties  of  a  ruler  he 
would  have  had  no  time  for  despair.  But  I — I  feel  as  if 
this  secret  revolution  in  me  had  made  me  capable  of 
greater  than  weakness — that  is  common  enough  in  my 
class!  It  has  bred  in  me  an  indifference — there,  I  have 
said  it! — to  all  that  I  have  held  most  sacred.  I  feel  as 
If  I  had  slipped  into  another  world.  My  rigid  love  of 
duty,  even  my  old  superstitions,  they  have — they  had 
gone.  But  I  have  dragged  them  back.  Last  night  as 
I  lay  awake  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  clawed  them  out  of 
their  graves  and  shook  and  warmed  them  into  life.  I 
have  escaped  a  deadly  peril.  I  know  that  when  you 
have  gone  I  shall  gradually  become  myself  again — if  not 
quite  the  same,  if  without  enthusiasm,  at  least  I  shall 
fit  into  the  old  routine — " 

"And  you  believe  that?"  asked  Fessenden.  "You 
will  no  more  fall  back  into  your  old  state  of  mediaeval 
ignorance  and  superstition  than  I  shall  be  wholly  myself 
until  I  possess  you.  You  have  been  remade.  You  have* 
come  to  life,  and  only  in  me.  You  will  return  neither 
to  separateness  nor  to  ignorance.  The  imagination  is 
quiescent  while  companioned — but  wait!" 

"Do  you  know,  there  have  been  moments  when,  if 
you  had  asked  me,  I  believe  I  should  have  fled  with  you 
to  your  yacht?  I  don't  know  myself!  I  almost  long  to 
have  you  gone  that  I  may  suffer  to  the  utmost  capacity 
of  my  nature,  and  then  adapt  myself  to  the  future." 

305 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

He  had  taken  out  his  watch.  "By  carriage  and  a 
good  many  changes  of  train  we  could  reach  Fiume  some 
time  to-morrow;  a  telegram  on  the  way  will  bring  my 
yacht  there.  Will  you  go?" 

"Oh!  No,  I  will  not  go!  It  is  bad  enough  that  I  am 
tempted.  Oh,  I  want  to  go,  I  want  to  go,  more  than  I 
have  ever  wanted  anything  on  this  earth !  Another  man 
would  make  it  inevitable,  but  you  will  not;  and  in  a  few 
days  I  shall  be  battling  with  regrets,  and  hating  myself 
the  more." 

"Yes,"  he  said,  and  with  little  enthusiasm.  "I  could 
compel  you,  and  you  would  love  me  the  more  for  it ;  but  I 
should  not  love  myself.  It  would  not  be  playing  a  fair 
game.  I  have  a  Puritanic  conscience  as  an  inheritance; 
also  I  have  the  instinct  of  the  American  to  protect  wom 
en — girls,  perhaps,  I  should  say;  to  look  upon  them  as 
his  chief  responsibility.  That  is  pounded  into  us  early. 
And  I  have  lived  so  much  within  myself  that  it  would 
demoralize  me  to  fall  too  far  below  my  own  standard — 
God  knows,  I  fall  below  it  often  enough.  Moreover,  if  I 
gave  way  to  my  passions  you  might — were  our  escape 
interrupted — suffer  so  terribly  that  it  chills  my  blood 
whenever  I  think  of  it.  I  believe  that  is  the  one  thing 
— the  knowledge  that  you  were  in  your  father's  power, 
unable  to  escape — that  would  send  me  off  my  head.  And 
it  is  necessary  that  I  keep  my  head  until  I  am  able  in 
all  ways  to  protect  you." 


XXV 

"Have  you  noticed,"  asked  Alexandra  of  Zrinyi,  as 
the  Archduchess  descended  the  staircase,  "that  our 
princess  has,  until  to-night,  for  the  past  week  worn  only 
black  or  white?" 

306 


RULERS   OF    KINGS 

"Why  should  I  notice  a  trifling  detail  like  that?'' 
asked  Zrinyi  sulkily.  "If  she  look  beautiful,  what 
matters  her  dress?" 

"You  don't  deserve  to  be  asked  intelligent  questions." 

Ranata  was  trailing  down  the  rough  old  staircase, 
between  smoking  lamps  almost  as  old,  in  a  green  velvet 
gown  of  many  hues,  any  one  of  which  would  have 
enhanced  the  brilliancy  of  her  skin  and  hair.  The  neck 
of  the  gown  was  cut  squarely,  and  a  high  stiff  collar  of 
white  lace  rose  behind  her  head.  Her  skin  was  bare  of 
jewels,  her  hair  piled  high  and  without  ornament.  In 
her  cheeks  was  a  deep  flush,  her  eyes  sparkled  restless 
ly,  her  face  had  escaped  from  its  habitual  repose.  Her 
whole  figure  expressed  vigor,  energy,  impatience  ill-con 
fined. 

"  If  it  were  not  the  Princess,  one  would  almost  say  she 
looked  reckless,"  murmured  Piroska  to  Fessenden,  who 
was  staring  at  the  vision — the  only  one  of  the  company, 
perhaps,  who  found  nothing  foreign  in  Ranata 's  ap 
pearance.  Piroska  compelled  him  to  transfer  his  gaze. 
"That  is  the  way  I  have  always  imagined  a  girl  might 
look  who  had  made  up  her  mind  to  elope,"  she  continued. 

Fessenden  started  slightly,  and  quick  as  he  was  with 
his  words,  the  Countess  noticed  it.  "The  Princess  has 
the  cruelty  of  your  sex,"  he  replied.  "She  doubtless 
occupies  a  very  considerable  part  of  her  time  thinking 
out  new  gowns  with  which  to  distract  us." 

"Why  don't  you  look  more  hopeless?"  whispered 
Piroska. 

"  Must  you  have  men  who  wear  their  hearts  upon  their 
sleeves?" 

"No;  but  no  man  can  wear  a  mask  forever,  unless  he 
is  secretly  happier  than  he  would  have  us  believe." 

"I  am  always  happy;  it  is  a  mere  matter  of  tem 
perament."  He  paused  deliberately  and  looked  at  her. 

307 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

''Moreover,"  he  added,  "I  have  no  intention  of  failing." 
And  then  he  joined  the  group  about  the  Archduchess. 
They  had  parted  but  two  hours  before,  and  although  he 
had  never  been  so  convinced  of  her  love  for  him,  there 
had  been  nothing  then  of  the  almost  reckless  promise 
which  her  eyes  seemed  to  flash  to  his  as  the  movement 
was  made  towards  the  lower  end  of  the  room.  What 
did  it  mean?  Had  an  hour  of  solitary  thought  in  the 
dark,  before  her  maids  came  to  dress  her,  beaten  her 
passion  so  high  that  it  had  overwhelmed  her  traditions 
at  last,  and  urged  her  to  take  advantage  of  this  op 
portunity  for  flight?  He  turned  giddy  at  the  thought; 
and  suddenly  realized  that  deeply  enamoured  as  he  was 
with  the  idea  of  manipulating  princes,  his  want  of 
the  woman  extinguished  this  ambition  among  others,  and 
that  he  found  incomplete  happiness  something  more 
than  torment. 

The  hall  was  of  immense  proportions,  and  the  din 
ing-room  being  far  off,  beyond  many  chill  corridors,  the 
table  was  spread  at  the  end  farthest  from  the  doors  that 
opened  directly  upon  a  platform  in  front  of  the  castle. 
The  cannon  were  still  in  the  embrasures.  In  the  light 
of  the  many,  yet  insufficient,  lamps  the  room  with  its 
battle  -  flags  and  weapons,  its  skins  and  dim  hangings 
embroidered  with  the  old  arts  of  Hungary,  so  recently 
revived,  was  feudal  enough  to  please  the  most  exacting 
American. 

"Count,"  murmured  Alexandra,  "if  you  could  only 
provide  an  earthquake  shock  among  other  phenomena 
I  believe  I  should  no  longer  resist." 

"You  need  an  earthquake,"  he  replied.  "But,  of 
course,  I  am  gratified,  and  hopeful,  at  the  conquest  of 
the  castle." 

"I  shouldn't  care  to  live  here  all  the  year  round, 
however." 

308 


RULERS   OF    KINGS 

"Heaven  forbid!  even  with  the  most  adored  of  women. 
Give  me  the  capitals  of  the  world  in  winter." 

"It  is  a  great  comfort  to  feel  that  our  tastes  are  so 
much  alike!"  And  she  thought,  "The  Hungarians  may 
be  two-thirds  fire  and  impulse,  but  no  American  could 
take  his  cues  more  quickly." 

Zrinyi,  who  was  not  in  a  sentimental  mood,  contin 
ued:  "I  have  a  surprise  for  this  night,  if  not  an  earth 
quake.  I  find  that  the  peasantry  all  through  these 
mountains  have  been  much  excited  since  they  heard 
the  Princess  was  coming  here — that  is  to  say,  the  sister 
of  Rudolf.  Most  of  the  young  men  were  beaters  at  one 
time  or  another  for  him,  and  those  who  were  not,  and 
the  old  and  the  women,  invariably  managed  to  see  him 
when  he  came  to  G6rg6ny.  His  delightful  manners, 
combined  with  the  halo  of  monarchy,  made  them  wor 
ship  him  in  a  manner  which  few  modern  princes  have 
known — Ludvig  II.  perhaps  furnishes  the  only  parallel. 
Nor  will  they  believe  him  dead.  They  know  that  our 
princess  resembles  him  in  many  respects,  and  doubtless 
they  have  some  sort  of  hope  that  she  can  give  them 
definite  news  of  him,  that  perhaps  she  has  come  to 
announce  his  return  from  the  dim  unknown.  So  I  have 
sent  men  about  inviting  them  to  come  here  to-night. 
She  has  another  opportunity  to  draw  to  herself  the  love 
that  has  been  wasted  since  Rudolf's  death.  I  am  grate 
ful  that  she  is  looking  her  best  to-night,  for  although 
she  is  always  beautiful,  she  has  appeared  less  brilliant 
of  late." 

"She  wears  color  to-night,"  said  Alexandra  dryly; 
"that  is  the  whole  secret." 

"I  am  not  a  fool,  mademoiselle;  I  understand  quite 
well,  and  sincerely  wish  she  could  be  happy.  But 
unhappiness  is  the  fate  of  princes.  They  are  born  in 
sacrifice,  and  they  die  in  it,  having  known  little  else. 

3°9 


RULERS   OF   KINGS 

But  our  princess  has  so  much  to  give — it  is  a  great  pity. 
I  don't  waste  my  sympathies  on  them  as  a  rule.  And 
your  brother — it  is  his  first  disappointment?  It  will 
go  hard  with  him,  but  any  man  worth  the  name  can 
get  over  anything." 

"That  is  comforting!  If  Ranata  and  Fessenden  sud 
denly  made  up  their  minds  to  run  off,  should  you  help 
them?" 

"Run  off?  Great  Heaven!  How  could  you  conceive 
such  a  thing  even  in  jest?  The  Hapsburgs  have  done  a 
good  deal  for  love — but  that!" 

"An  American?  That  is  the  point?  It  would  be  a 
good  beginning." 

"I  have  always  wondered,"  murmured  Zrinyi,  "why 
you  did  not  put  three  heads  on  your  eagle  while  you 
were  about  it." 

' '  The  two-headed  one  was  sufficiently  absurd  to  deter 
us.  You  have  not  answered  my  question.  Should  you 
help  them?" 

"I  suppose  I  should.  My  sympathies  would  be  with 
them  as  lovers,  being  in  such  a  deplorable  condition 
myself.  But  I  should  not  approve,  for  I  believe  in  the 
principle  of  monarchy,  and  that  would  deal  it  a  heavy 
blow.  But  a  liaison — there  is  no  objection  to  that  if  it 
were  circumspectly  managed.  That  shocks  your  Amer 
ican  prudery;  but  in  the  case  of  princes  it  is  a  desirable 
outlet  for  the  feelings  they  have  in  common  with  the 
rest  of  human-kind,  especially  when  a  still  more  vital 
principle  is  at  stake.  Our  princess  can  preserve  this 
monarchy  if  any  one  can,  and  I  for  one  would  welcome 
her  as  the  solution;  for  William,  with  all  his  great  quali 
ties,  is  perhaps  a  trifle  too  high  and  mighty  for  Hun 
gary,  and  his  second  son  is  still  an  unknown  quantity. 
It  would  be  criminal  in  her  to  desert  us,  but  a  liaison 
would  do  no  one  any  harm." 

310 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

"I  don't  take  monarchies  as  seriously  as  you  do,  and 
I  have  brought  up  Ranata  too  well  —  she  will  have  no 
liaisons.  Besides,  my  brother  plays  for  high  stakes.  It 
is  the  best  or  nothing  with  him." 

"Men  have  been  known  to  take  what  they  could  get; 
and  there  are  elements  in  our  princess  which  are  beyond 
even  your  training.  To-night  she  looks  like  a  beautiful 
ripe  fruit  hanging  heavily  from  the  tree.  The  Hapsburgs 
have  bad  blood  in  them ;  not  a  drachm  of  the  Puritanism 
of  the  Hohenzollerns.  The  Princess  has  it  in  her  to  be  a 
great  sovereign,  but — bien;  the  world  is  her  oyster;  why 
should  she  not  open  it?" 

"  If  I  marry  you  it  will  be  to  reform  your  morals.  Not 
that  they  are  worse  than  those  of  any  other  European." 

"American  morals  are  bourgeoise." 

"  So  is  its  hypocrisy!  But  we  like  things  that  way.  I 
may  even  make  an  American  of  you  yet." 

"I  have  no  objection  to  being  an  American  if  I  can 
live  in  Europe.  And  all  the  Americans  I  have  met  seem 
to  make  no  difficulty  about  that.  I  suppose  your  excel 
lent  father  would  not  wish  me  to  go  into  business  with 
him?" 

"I  am  sure  he  would  not!" 

"Sarolta,"  murmured  Prince  Illehazy,  "I  have  been 
uneasy  for  some  time.  Has  not  the  moment  come  to 
speak?" 

"I  have  spoken  —  this  afternoon  —  and  her  philo 
sophical  calm  staggered  me." 

"I  see  no  evidence  of  philosophical  calm." 

"It  is  a  transformation  I  do  not  understand — al 
though  I  understand  it  as  a  manifestation  better  than 
the  philosophy.  I  shall  ask  Mr.  Abbott  to  go  as  soon 
as  we  reach  Budapest,  and  doubtless  he  would  be 
obliged  to  return  to  America  very  soon  in  any  case; 
although  I  had  a  letter  yesterday  from  his  step-mother, 

311 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

and  she  seemed  to  take  his  long  absence  without  pro 
test.  I  do  not  care  to  do  anything  further  without  some 
thing  more  specific  as  an  excuse  than  the  young  man's 
devotion,  and  an  expression  of  reckless  defiance  worn 
for  one  evening.  Besides,  we  have  Piroska  to  do  the 
spying.  The  King  will  not  remain  too  long  unwarned. 
But  Ranata's  love-affair  hardly  worries  me  as  much  as 
this  perhaps  too  sudden  popularity.  I  fear  it  may  be 
overdone,  and  will  alarm  Franz,  possibly  the  King. 
Ranata  has  not  a  thought  of  usurpation.  I  am  con 
vinced  of  that.  But—" 

"Exactly.  I  saw  Konigsegg  when  I  was  in  Vienna 
last  week,  and  he  tried  in  his  delicate  way  to  pump  me. 
He  learned  nothing,  but  I  did.  The  wind  is  blowing  the 
wrong  way.  If  the  Princess,  in  a  moment  of  haughty 
forget  fulness,  drops  her  policy  of  conciliation  towards 
Konigsegg,  or  he  becomes  suddenly  fearful  of  American 
influence — for  Mr.  Abbott  may  go,  but  he  will  return, 
or  I  know  nothing  of  men — or  the  minister  fears  to  an 
ger  the  heir — then  our  beautiful  princess  will  go  back 
to  her  cage  in  the  Hofburg." 

"In  that  case  I  should  not  care  to  be  the  Emperor," 
remarked  the  Princess  Sarolta. 

Ranata  suddenly  lifted  her  hand.  "I  hear  such  a 
peculiar  noise,"  she  said.  "Is  a  storm  rising?" 

The  rest  became  aware  of  a  deep  low  murmur,  not  un 
like  the  rolling  in  of  tides.  Zrinyi  left  the  table  hastily 
and  looked  from  one  of  the  narrow  windows  at  the  up 
per  end  of  the  hall. 

"I  will  send  for  your  cloaks,"  he  said,  "and  then  I 
shall  ask  you  to  step  out  on  the  platform  for  a  moment." 

A  few  minutes  later  he  threw  open  the  great  doors  of 
the  hall,  and  the  party  stared  silently  at  the  scene  before 
them.  The  full  moon  swung  close  to  the  ice-fields,  the 
white  harsh  peaks  high  above.  In  the  court-yard,  on 

312 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

the  small  plain  beyond,  on  every  snowy  hill  and  rock, 
were  crowded  hundreds  of  men  clad  in  the  skins  of  the 
sheep,  the  wolf,  the  goat,  and  the  bear.  On  their  heads 
were  high  fur  hats,  which  exposed  but  a  fringe  of  long 
hair  on  their  shoulders  and  concealed  their  brows,  giv 
ing  them  an  aspect  of  singular  wildness.  But  they  were 
very  quiet,  almost  breathless,  until  Zrinyi  stepped  for 
ward  and  shouted  something  in  Roumanian.  Then  each 
man  lifted  a  flute  to  his  lips,  and  a  sweet  and  savage 
melody  stole  forth  gently,  to  rise  and  swell  until  all  the 
vast  and  desolate  scene  seemed  to  bend  and  listen.  The 
notes  might  have  been  born  of  the  peaks  that  looked  as 
if  torn  asunder  by  harsh  unlovely  hands,  then  softened 
to  beauty  and  gentleness  by  the  silver  glitter  of  the 
snow.  And  the  strains,  piercing  yet  remote,  had  in 
them  too  the  eternal  loneliness  of  the  mountains,  the  only 
thing  in  Nature  akin  to  the  eternal  loneliness  of  the 
great.  The  hills  took  up  the  echo  and  rolled  it  on,  and 
among  far  and  hidden  peaks  a  laugh  seemed  flying  from 
itself. 

When  they  had  finished,  Zrinyi  turned  to  Ranata. 
"They  have  come  here  to  see  your  Royal  Highness,"  he 
said ;  ' '  and  not  so  much  because  you  are  our  princess  as 
the  sister  of  our  lost  crown  prince.  Have  I  your  per 
mission  to  ask  them  to  enter?" 

Ranata,  who  was  pale,  turned  paler.  "Yes,"  she 
said.  "Ask  them  in." 

The  guests  returned  to  the  lower  end  of  the  hall,  whence 
the  table  had  been  removed,  and  threw  off  their  cloaks. 
The  women  made  a  brilliant  group  in  their  elaborate 
dinner  dress,  their  flowers  and  jewels  and  superfluous 
fans. 

The  Wallachians  and  Roumanians — there  are  few  of 
Hungarian  blood  so  far  south  in  Transylvania — came 
silently  but  eagerly  in.  Each  man  as  he  entered  re- 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

moved  the  tower  of  fur  on  his  head,  revealing  a  dark 
mane  of  matted  hair.  The  countenances  thus  exposed 
were  mild  and  often  handsome,  but  the  dark  eyes  burned 
and  flashed  with  an  excitement  of  which  they  gave  no 
other  evidence. 

Ranata  remained  with  the  group  until  the  incoming 
throng  had  almost  filled  the  hall.  The  doors  were  still 
open,  and  behind  the  mass  of  heads  on  the  platform  she 
could  see  the  snowy  slopes  of  the  range,  whose  silences 
seemed  to  have  fallen  upon  the  castle;  no  one  spoke, 
and  the  sandals  of  the  mountaineers  pressed  the  floor 
silently.  Zrinyi  murmured  a  suggestion,  and  Ranata 
ascended  a  few  steps  of  the  staircase  which  finished  the 
hall.  All  the  voluptuous  beauty  had  left  her  face;  it 
was  so  white  that  her  eyes  burned  black.  Her  aspect 
would  have  been  angry  had  it  been  less  stern.  She 
could  not  speak  Roumanian,  but  Zrinyi  had  hastily 
taught  her  a  few  words. 

"I  am  the  sister  of  your  crown  prince,"  she  said. 
"And  I  am  honored  and  happy  that  you  have  come  to 
see  me." 

They  gazed  at  her  for  a  few  moments  in  a  heavier 
silence.  To  them  she  had  lost  nothing  of  a  beauty 
they  had  never  seen,  and  in  the  wavering  lights,  pos 
sibly  because  at  the  moment  her  mind  was  face  to  face 
with  her  brother,  her  likeness  to  Rudolf  was  so  strong 
as  to  send  the  blood  to  their  heads.  It  rose  slowly,  for 
they  were  cold  with  long  waiting  and  taken  by  surprise 
with  a  beauty  they  had  not  expected,  but  when  they 
realized  that  the  sister  of  their  prince  and  the  chiefest 
object  of  his  affections  stood  before  them,  they  sudden 
ly  sent  forth  a  mighty  cry,  hard,  wild,  abrupt.  It  was  al 
most  a  note  of  agony,  such  as  the  mountains  might  have 
given  when  the  fires  of  the  earth  boiled  them  apart.  The 
cry  shot  out  again,  but  this  time  it  swelled  into  volume, 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

ended  in  a  roar,  and  then  split  into  intelligible  sound. 
"Ely en!"  " Setreasca !"  " Setreasca!"  shook  the  old 
flags  like  the  wind  of  battle;  then,  on  a  higher  note, 
"Rudolf!"  "Rudolf!"  "Rudolf!"  They  came  for 
ward  like  a  great  wave,  excited,  voluble,  demanding  to 
be  told  what  they  had  done  to  anger  their  prince  that  he 
came  no  more,  what  his  wicked  enemies  had  done  with 
him,  why  his  father,  the  great  King  and  Emperor,  was 
hiding  him.  It  was  idle  to  attempt  to  answer,  and 
Ranata  stood  looking  down  upon  them,  at  times  forget 
ting  the  strange  scene,  her  thoughts  in  the  crypt  of  the 
Capuchin  Church  with  her  brother.  Suddenly  she  heard 
herself  addressed  in  Hungarian,  and  glanced  aside  to 
see  a  gypsy  standing  on  the  step  below  her.  He  was 
regarding  her  with  admiring  eyes,  but  there  was  a  sar 
donic  twinkle  in  them,  and  his  mien  although  friendly 
would  not  have  inspired  confidence  in  an  idiot.  How 
ever,  Ranata  came  forth  from  her  thoughts  and  smiled 
on  him. 

"Did  you  know  him?"  she  asked. 

He  addressed  her  in  the  most  extravagant  forms  of 
homage,  but  when  he  answered  her  question  it  was  with 
directness  enough. 

"I  was  with  his  party  on  every  visit,"  he  asserted 
triumphantly,  as  if  exhibiting  a  valued  stock-in-trade; 
"  I  and  my  band.  He  was  always  eager  to  hear  the  Char- 
dash.  And  out  on  Lake  Zenoga,  sometimes  at  Gorgeny, 
we  sat  at  his  board,  or  in  the  circle  by  the  fire.  Oh, 
those  were  the  days,  your  Highness — first  a  prince,  then 
a  gypsy,  then  a  prince,  then  a  gypsy,  all  mixed  up,  all 
drunk,  everybody  happy.  I  know  that  Rudolf  is  dead, 
for  I  have  travelled  far,  but  I  wish  he  were  not." 

The  man's  speech  broke  through  the  severity  of  her 
mood  and  she  laughed.  "I  have  no  doubt  they  were 
gay  times,"  she  said,  "and  I  regret  that  I  am  not  a  man 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

to  come  and  take  his  place  among  you.  But  I  will  do 
the  best  I  can ;  and  believe  that  I  shall  love  you  as  much 
as  he  did." 

The  man  shook  his  head.  "We  would  never  dare  to 
love  like  that  again."  He  paused,  then  added  mean 
ingly,  "The  love  of  the  chosen  Hapsburgs  is  fatal — to 
themselves  and  to  those  who  win  it." 

Ranata  looked  over  the  man's  head  as  if  he  had  dis 
appeared  into  the  still  shouting  multitude;  but  he  had 
the  assurance  of  his  race,  which  acknowledges  neither 
country  nor  king,  and  he  repeated: 

"It  is  always  fatal,  your  Royal  Highness." 

Then  Ranata  looked  down  at  him  once  more.  After 
all,  the  creature  was  not  worth  crushing,  and  he  was 
diverting.  Moreover,  he  had  known  and  doubtless  been 
spoiled  by  her  brother.  Rudolf  had  told  her  many 
anecdotes  of  the  gypsies  who  always  attached  them 
selves  to  his  Transylvanian  household. 

"You  will  not  return  to  us!"  continued  the  gypsy. 
''  When  Rudolf  left  us  the  last  time  I  said  he  would  not 
return.  Nor  did  I  predict  it  because  he  said  to  us  not 
'Aiifwiedersehen,'  but  'Good-bye.'" 

"Is  that  true?" 

"It  is  true,  but  that  was  not  the  reason.  When  he 
came  that  last  time  I  said  he  would  not  return." 

"And  how  do  you  know  I  shall  not  return?" 

"Because  love  is  fatal  to  the  chosen  Hapsburgs,  your 
Royal  Highness." 

"Then  they  can  avoid  love,"  said  the  Archduchess 
impersonally. 

"Not  when  they  are  made  for  it.  Nature  has  pro 
tected  many  by  a  mask  as  ugly  as  the  plague.  When 
she  gives  them  beauty  be  sure  it  is  to  scourge  the  proud 
est  house  on  earth,  and  to  chastise  it  for  centuries  of 
cruelty  and  oppression." 

3*6 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

"Maria  Theresia  was  beautiful." 

"She  was  fat.  She  also  had  more  children  than  a 
man  ever  can  remember.  Besides,  she  was  not  really 
beautiful." 

"And  you  are  not  very  logical.  Other  houses  of 
Europe  have  records  for  injustice  as  great  as  ours  may 
possibly  have." 

"Nature  has  taken  other  methods  to  punish  them. 
Be  sure  that  none  shall  escape." 

"I  suppose  you  wish  to  tell  my  fortune.  I  have  not 
superstition  enough  for  that,  but  in  the  name  of  my 
brother  I  will  send  you  a  purse  to  the  servants'  quarters 
to-night." 

She  withdrew  into  the  polite  silence  with  which  royal 
ty  lays  down  the  burden  of  audience,  but  the  gypsy  held 
his  ground.  He  thanked  her  extravagantly,  and  added: 
"I  am  more  honest  than  most  gypsies,  your  Royal 
Highness — I  do  not  pretend  to  see  too  far  into  the  future. 
But  when  a  man's  heart  is  black  with  remorse  and  bit 
terness  and  hatred  of  life  and  the  reckless  indulgence  of 
passions,  I  can  see  the  end;  and  when  a  woman — 

"Go!"  said  Ranata;  and  this  time  the  man  mingled  his 
featureless  sheepskin  with  the  others.  She  beckoned  to 
Zrinyi  and  spoke  with  him  a  moment.  Then  he  stood 
beside  her  and  lifted  his  hand.  Every  man  seemed  to 
shut  his  voice  between  his  teeth. 

"  Her  Royal  Highness  wishes  me  to  tell  you,"  said  the 
Count,  on  a  note  which  carried  to  those  beyond  the  door, 
"that  Rudolf  is  dead.  That  he  has  gone  where  you  may 
meet  him  again  if  you  are  faithful  and  loyal  subjects 
to  the  throne.  She  will  tell  you  herself." 

And  Ranata  said  in  Roumanian,  and  with  the  cold  ac 
cent  of  finality,  "He  is  dead." 

Zrinyi  let  the  words  sink  into  the  silence,  then  he  raised 
his  voice  again  and  shouted  that  barrels  of  wine  were 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

opening  in  the  kitchen,  and  the  great  wave  turned  upon 
itself  and  rolled  out,  but  still  in  silence  and  with  many 
a  backward  glance. 

Ranata  ascended  the  stairs.  When  she  returned  she 
wore  a  short  skirt  and  a  long  fur  cloak  with  a  hood. 

"I  am  going  for  a  walk,"  she  said  to  the  astonished 
company.  "  Mr.  Abbott,  will  you  come  with  me?"  Then 
to  the  Princess  Sarolta,  who  had  risen,  she  added,  "No 
power  can  prevent  me.  But  do  not  be  alarmed;  I  shall 
return." 

"Do  you  give  me  your  royal  word  for  that?"  asked 
the  alarmed  Obersthofmeisterin,  "otherwise,  old  and 
lame  as  I  am,  I  shall  follow  you." 

"I  give  you  my  word.     You  may  sleep  in  peace." 


XXVI 

Fessenden  and  Ranata  walked  rapidly  and  in  silence 
over  the  paths  the  mountain  peasants  had  trodden  that 
night.  There  had  been  neither  wind  nor  snow  for  many 
days,  and  what  had  fallen  was  compact  and  not  too 
smooth  for  impatient  feet.  For  a  time  the  path  was 
straight,  and,  looking  back,  the  irregular  mass  of  the 
castle  on  its  isolated  rock  was  the  one  dark  object  in  the 
white  radiance  of  the  Alpine  world.  Soon,  however,  a 
sharp  turn  about  the  foot  of  one  of  the  peaks  that  rose 
straight  from  the  brief  level  seemed  to  fling  them  ab 
ruptly  into  an  eternity  of  ice-fields  and  endless  chains  of 
glittering  crests  so  high  above  that  their  fierce  teeth 
must  surely  bite  new  pictures  into  the  moon  that  hung 
so  close.  Ranata's  arm  was  within  his,  but  Fessenden 's 
mind  reverted  to  his  boyhood  in  the  Adirondacks,  when 
he  had  stolen  forth  to  his  balcony  on  winter  moonlight 
nights  to  gaze  upon  the  snowy  lake  and  peaks,  and 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

dream  of  their  kin  in  the  far-off  Alps.  How  tame 
that  picture  seemed  to-night,  dear  as  it  was!  That 
was  a  mild  and  pleasant  wilderness  compared  with  this 
upper  firmament  of  ice  and  desolation,  with  its  black 
forests  below  and  on  high  its  masses  of  rock  and  crag 
that  looked  as  if  arrested  in  brutal  warfare  with  each 
other. 

In  the  course  of  an  hour  the  path  came  abruptly  to  an 
end  on  the  shore  of  a  small  lake,  from  three  sides  of 
which  the  mountains  rose  like  the  straight  and  jealous 
sides  of  a  mighty  jewel  casket  guarding  the  diamond 
treasure  of  some  old  god  of  the  hills.  The  lake,  looking 
smaller  perhaps  from  the  great  height  of  the  perpen 
dicular  mountains  surrounding  it,  was  oval  in  shape,  and 
its  frozen  surface  glittered  and  sparkled  under  the  moon 
poised  directly  above.  No  light  of  man  had  ever  drawn 
such  radiance  from  the  diamond.  The  air  was  so  still 
that  the  cold  was  hardly  noticeable.  The  silence  was 
intense,  oppressive,  now  that  their  feet  no  longer  met 
the  snow  crisply.  Ranata  put  her  hand  nervously  to 
her  head. 

"What  are  you  thinking  of?"  she  asked. 

"Of  my  boyhood  in  the  Adirondacks.  To-night  a 
thousand  years  seem  to  have  disappeared  since  then. 
And  many  and  wild  as  were  my  dreams  of  the  future  in 
those  callow  days  when  I  had  leisure  for  dreams,  no  flight 
penetrated  to  the  future  which  held  these  last  weeks,  to 
the  indescribable  solitude  of  this  night  with  you.  In 
those  days  I  fancied  myself  a  poor  boy  who  had  begun 
life  in  the  orthodox  log-cabin  and  must  end  in  the  White 
House.  But  that  I  should  love  a  daughter  of  the 
Caesars  and  hold  her  in  my  arms  among  the  eternal  snows 
of  the  loneliest  of  the  Alps  never  muttered  in  my  most 
exalted  moments.  Life  is  a  rum  thing." 

Ranata  laughed  in  spite  of  the  chaotic  emotions  that 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

had  driven  her  forth.  ' '  Which  do  you  really  love  best,  I 
wonder,  the  sublime  or  the  ridiculous?  Do  you  know 
what  I  had  almost  made  up  my  mind  to  do  when  I  came 
down  to  dinner?" 

"To  go  to-morrow  with  me  to  Fiume?" 

"To-night;  as  soon  as  the  others  were  out  of  the  way, 
and  Zrinyi  could  have  the  horses  harnessed.  After  I 
left  you  there  was  an  hour  in  which  I  think  I  really  was 
mad.  Every  fact  of  existence  except  the  possibility  of 
being  alone  with  you  on  your  yacht  seemed  to  have  been 
burned  out  of  my  mind.  I  would  have  sold  Austria  to 
William,  I  would  have  flung  Hungary  to  Roumania — 
there  was  no  crime  I  would  not  have  committed  to  have 
been  alone  on  this  earth  with  you.  And  now  we  are 
alone,  and  the  fever  is  gone.  I  look  back  upon  the  hours 
before  those  poor  creatures  came  and  shouted  Rudolf's 
name  as  upon  some  half  -  remembered  interval  of  in 
sanity.  But  it  was  appallingly  real  then,  and  if  it  came 
once  it  may  come  again.  After  our  return  to  Budapest 
— and  I  shall  start  to-morrow — I  shall  never  see  you 
again." 

"I  still  think  you  are  unwise  not  to  take  advantage  of 
this  opportunity.  You  will  regret  it;  take  my  word 
for  that." 

"  Doubtless,  when  it  is  happily  too  late.  I  am  ice  now. 
I  can  only  describe  my  sensation  while  those  wild  men 
were  begging  me  for  Rudolf  by  asking  you  to  imagine 
yourself  standing  under  that  frozen  cascade  over  there. 
It  seemed  to  me  that  for  the  first  time  I  realized  the 
enormity  of  his  crime.  He  could  have  been  a  great 
monarch,  he  could  have  preserved  his  country,  he  could 
have  saved  Europe  from  unimaginable  horrors;  and 
every  gift,  every  duty,  every  ambition  disappeared  into 
the  flaming  abyss  of  his  passions.  Oh,  if  my  father 
could  only  have  died  twenty  years  ago!  That  alone 

320 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

could  have  saved  Rudolf,  for  it  was  excess  that  killed 
him;  the  occasional  indulgence  would  not  have  mattered. 
And  these  men,  and  thousands  like  them,  would  have 
obeyed  his  lightest  call  to  save  Austria  from  Europe, 
to  save  it  from  Hungary  if  need  be.  They  would  come 
at  my  call.  They  would  laugh  even  at  my  father. 
And,  Fessenden,  above  those  wild  heads,  and  bodies 
like  mountain  beasts,  I  saw  for  a  moment  the  pale 
face  of  Rudolf,  terrible  with  agony  and  remorse,  with 
impotent  resentment  against  the  law  of  the  grave, 
dumbly  beseeching  me  to  continue  the  work  that  the 
great  invisible  forces  up  there  had  sent  him  into  the 
world  to  accomplish.  It  was  then  that  my  blood 
turned  to  ice.  An  hour  before — and  in  other  moments, 
perhaps  —  I  had  been  capable  of  greater  guilt  than 
Rudolf's;  for  after  all  I  have  had  no  such  temptations, 
no  such  provocations  as  his.  Where  you  have  up 
held  me,  women,  from  the  time  he  was  old  enough,  the 
very  girls  of  the  court,  flung  themselves  beneath  his  feet, 
honored  to  be  dishonored  by  the  heir  to  the  throne, 
even  had  he  been  less  fascinating  as  a  man.  My  father 
had  made  no  secret  of  his  own  amours;  there  has  been 
no  more  corrupt  court  in  Europe;  Rudolf  saw  no 
necessity  for  restraint,  and  he  used  none.  If  he  had 
married  happily  all  might  have  been  well,  for  he  was  not 
vicious,  and  his  nature  was  very  affectionate.  But  when 
does  royalty  marry  happily  ?  Fortunate  the  prince  who 
marries  the  cow.  Then  at  least  there  is  one  incentive 
the  less.  Rudolf  had  no  such  fortune,  and  disappoint 
ment  and  ennui,  multiplying  themselves,  drove  him  to 
the  arms  of  charming  women  who  wished  for  nothing 
so  much  as  to  make  him  forget,  and  from  them  to  the 
boon  companions  who  adored  him,  but  dared  not 
remonstrate  had  they  wished,  when  he  drank  till 
morning.  But  what  excuse  had  I?  Only  that  of  a 

21  321 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

passion  so  great  and  so  real  that  it  should  give  me  the 
strength  of  these  mountains.  Without  it,  after  gaining 
my  wishes  in  Hungary,  I  might  have  become  bored, 
indifferent,  cynical;  I  might  even,  as  I  felt  youth  passing, 
have  indulged  in  amours  that  no  one  would  dare  to 
take  me  to  account  for.  I  might  have  gone  to  my 
coffin  there  in  the  Kaisergruft  without  an  ideal  in  my 
soul,  disillusioned,  all  my  original  nature  in  ruins,  re 
viling  life,  glad  to  die.  Now  it  seems  to  me  that  after 
the  inevitable  agony  is  over,  I  have  it  in  me  to  become 
really  great  in  character,  sustained  by  an  inner  life  and 
fed  by  a  memory  that  will  keep  me  young  till  my  death. 
I  thought  of  this  long  ago,  when  I  met  you  first,  but  it 
passed  from  my  mind.  It  was  more  like  a  dream  then. 
I  know  it  to  be  a  reality  now.  I  doubt  if  there  can  be 
any  such  actual  happiness  as  what  I  shall  find  in  the 
memories  of  you." 

Fessenden  looked  at  her  long  and  intently.  If  she 
was  of  many  and  variable  moods,  the  moods  were  of  an 
intensity  and  truth  which  submerged  the  other  women  in 
her  while  they  lasted.  And  he  always  responded  to  her 
deeper  moments  so  fully  and  so  involuntarily  that  only 
his  ever-alert  brain  saved  him  from  compromising  his 
future  conduct.  As  in  the  profoundest  solitude  he  had 
ever  known,  he  looked  through  her  eyes  into  her  naked 
soul,  he  had  a  long  moment  of  doubt.  In  that  cold  ideal 
of  fulfilled  duty,  with  her  love  apotheosized  and 
spiritualized,  might  she  not  in  truth  be  happier  than  he 
could  make  her?  Her  state,  and  the  more  common 
place  cause  of  the  deep  chill  of  an  Alpine  midnight,  had 
cooled  his  own  blood,  and  mufHed  the  passionate  voices 
in  his  imagination.  For  a  moment  he  too  felt  the 
white  intoxication  of  the  ideal  of  a  lifetime  of  self- 
immolation  on  the  passionless  shores  of  duty,  forecasted 
the  serenity  with  which  Nature  rewards  perpetual 

322 


RULERS   OF    KINGS 

striving  after  spiritual  heights,  and  compensates  for  the 
voluntary  resignation  of  the  joy  of  love.  He  darted 
a  glance  upward  and  was  visited  by  a  brief  illusion: 
he  and  Ranata  stood  alone  on  the  highest  peak  that 
pierced  the  stars.  Then  like  Life  he  compromised. 

"I  wish  for  nothing  less  than  your  full  and  un 
conditional  surrender,"  he  said.  "If,  when  you  have 
had  time  to  know  yourself  better  than  you  do  now,  you 
tell  me  that  your  decision  is  unalterable,  I  will  persist 
no  further.  I  believe  that  you  will  send  for  me  before 
long,  but  I  may  be  mistaken.  Perhaps  I  have  been 
blinded  by  my  love,  and  the  hopes  with  which  it  has 
inspired  my  imagination.  There  may  be,  there  are,  of 
course,  depths  in  your  mind  of  which  I  have  no  con 
ception.  These  may  contain  forces  that  will  finally 
shut  me  out  of  your  life.  If  you  convince  me  that  I 
should  add  to  your  unhappiness  by  persisting,  or  that 
I  should  do  you  a  great  wrong  by  making  you  mine 
in  spite  of  yourself,  then  I  promise  you  here  solemnly 
to  withdraw  finally  from  your  life ;  and  to  be  as  eternally 
faithful  to  you  as  I  believe  you  will  be  to  me." 

Vilma  from  her  high  window  saw  them  return.  She 
had  watched  for  them,  not  from  the  motive  which  had 
made  her  neighbor  walk  restlessly  between  her  window 
and  her  writing-table,  but  in  tempestuous  sympathy  with 
a  romance  against  which  she  pressed  so  close.  Her  own 
heart  she  believed  to  be  a  graveyard  with  one  tomb,  and 
she  found  a  vicarious  happiness  in  this  atmosphere  of 
passionate  and  uncommon  love  that  she  was  graciously 
permitted  to  enter.  She  had  seen  how  it  was  from  the 
first,  and  had  done  what  she  could  to  divert  the  atten 
tions  and  the  suspicion  of  Piroska.  Pumping  had  had 
no  effect  on  the  wary  Zapolya,  and  Vilma,  with  all  her 
subtlety,  was  still  in  doubt  as  to  what  the  possible 

323 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

enemy  may  have  seen  or  suspected.  She  had  followed 
Fessenden  and  Ranata  on  the  night  of  the  ball,  and 
waited  without  the  door  leading  to  the  private  apart 
ments  until  she  heard  him  returning;  that  she  might 
be  able  to  assure  Piroska  she  had  been  their  com 
panion  and  chaperon.  But  Piroska  had  given  no  sign 
that  she  had  been  occupied  during  that  brilliant  night 
except  with  her  many  partners,  and  Vilma  dared  not  tell 
Ranata  what  she  had  done.  Gracious  and  captivating 
as  the  Princess  was  in  her  new  role,  it  would  have  been 
a  braver  than  Vilma  who  would  have  taken  a  liberty 
with  her.  Fessenden  possessed  no  great  charm  for  this 
young  Hungarian,  who  preferred  a  more  romantic  type, 
but  if  he  had  inspired  love  in  her  beautiful  princess  she 
wished  with  all  her  heart  that  he  too  were  of  the  blood 
of  kings.  Had  these  two  been  content  with  intrigue  she 
would  willingly  have  helped  and  shielded  them,  but  she 
shrewdly  suspected  the  truth.  Astounding  as  the  fact 
might  be,  the  American  wished  to  marry  the  daughter  of 
an  emperor  and  king.  It  took  the  ancient  pattern  of 
her  brain  a  long  while  to  adjust  itself  to  the  bare  idea,  but 
when  time  had  accustomed  her  to  its  audacity  she  could, 
starved  soul  that  she  was,  but  sympathize.  She  too  had 
had  an  intuition  of  Ranata's  state  of  mind  when  she 
bloomed  upon  them  at  dinner  that  night,  breathing 
passion  and  defiance,  and  she  heartily  wished  the  Princess 
had  slipped  out  of  the  castle  with  her  lover  instead  of 
giving  her  word  to  the  Obersthofmeisterin  to  return. 

She  had  also  overheard  the  words  of  Piroska  to  the 
American,  and  she  had  noted  that  the  moment  the 
Princess  left  the  castle  the  sister  lady-in-waiting  had 
pleaded  the  morning  toothache  and  gone  to  her  room.  It 
adjoined  Vilma's,  and  for  two  hours  the  friend  had 
listened  to  the  steady  scratching  of  the  enemy's  pen, 
interrupted  only  by  hasty  visits  to  the  window.  Vilma 

324 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

had  lived  close  enough  to  Piroska  during  these  months 
of  court  life  to  be  sure  she  did  not  keep  a  diary.  She 
was  now  fully  convinced  that  she  was  the  tool  of 
Konigsegg  for  two  reasons:  it  was  worth  her  while,  and 
she  had  intended  to  marry  the  American  when  he 
became  convinced  of  the  hopelessness  of  his  suit. 
Piroska's  wiles  had  been  patent  enough  if  her  hostility 
had  not,  and  to-night,  as  the  American  had  turned 
to  her  with  an  air  of  conclusion  and  six  words  which 
might  have  extinguished  hope  in  a  more  sanguine  heart, 
the  hard  little  face  of  Piroska  had  settled  into  lines 
of  malice  and  determination.  She  had  been  as  gay  as 
usual  during  the  dinner,  but  the  color  had  come  back 
neither  to  cheek  nor  lips,  and  Vilma  suspected  that  if 
the  unfortunate  lovers  had  flown  that  night  Piroska 
would  have  managed  to  follow  them  as  far  as  the  first 
telegraph  station.  Now,  no  doubt,  she  was  writing 
her  long-deferred  report. 

As  Vilma  watched  Ranata  and  Fessenden  return,  she 
slipped  from  the  window -seat  and  climbed  onto  the  bed, 
still  huddled  in  her  furs.  The  fire  was  out  and  the  room 
almost  cold,  but  she  could  not  prepare  for  sleep  knowing 
of  the  plot  thickening  in  the  next  room.  The  hour  had 
come  to  act,  but  what  should  she  do?  To  attempt  to 
intercept  Piroska's  letter  on  the  morrow  would  be  futile ; 
Piroska  would  see  to  that.  Vilma  did  her  justice;  there 
would  be  no  loose  ends,  as  in  novels,  for  the  good  fairy  to 
unravel.  Should  she  walk  boldly  in  and  hurl  suspicion 
in  her  face?  Vilma  was  too  European  to  approve  of 
the  crude  method.  The  wild  idea  occurred  to  her  of 
smothering  Piroska  with  a  pillow  as  she  slept,  but  she 
had  a  certain  measure  of  common-sense ;  a  tragedy  in  the 
royal  household  would  put  an  end  to  court  life  in  Buda 
for  the  present,  perhaps  thwart  ambitions  she  half 
suspected,  possibly  send  herself  to  keep  company  with 

325 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

Piroska.  She  dismissed  with  some  reluctance  the  idea 
she  was  quite  capable  of  executing,  and  suddenly 
determined  to  go  into  Piroska 's  room  and  be  guided  by 
events.  She  left  the  bed  and  knocked  on  the  con 
necting  door;  then,  assuming  that  she  had  been  an 
swered,  opened  it  and  entered. 

"I  cannot  sleep,"  she  said,  "and  I  heard  you  moving 
about,  so  I  thought  you  might  be  as  glad  of  company  as 
I.  You  are  writing?  How  can  you  in  this  cold?  Do 
you  know  I  sat  up  to  watch  them  come  home?  Not 
that  I  doubted  they  would,  but  I  felt  as  if  I  were 
living  in  a  chapter  of  romantic  memoirs.  I  may  write 
mine  some  day — but  you  should  do  that — you  are  so 
much  cleverer  than  I." 

Piroska  had  risen  politely  and  pushed  a  chair  slightly 
away  from  her  table.  She  had  a  small  pile  of  manu 
script  before  her,  which  she  had  the  presence  of  mind 
not  to  attempt  to  conceal.  "I  am  cold,"  she  said,  sti 
fling  a  yawn,  "and  tired.  But  I  could  not  go  to 'bed. 
The  excitement  of  the  evening  made  me  hopelessly  wide 
awake,  so  I  thought  I  would  write  my  long-neglected 
letters." 

"It  has  been  exciting — those  wild  simple  creatures! 
But  that  looks  like  a  book.  Tell  me — "  her  eyes  were 
bright  with  girlish  curiosity,  "are  you  writing  a  novel? 
You  could!  Ah!  I  know  you  are!" 

"Well,"  said  Piroska,  with  a  delicate  hesitation,  "I— 
for  Heaven's  sake  don't  breathe  it,  Vilma!  One  is  such 
a  fool  until  one  succeeds!" 

Vilma  gave  an  ecstatic  cry,  and  with  a  movement  as 
swift  and  unexpected  as  that  of  a  panther  flung  herself 
upon  the  mass  of  papers.  "Let  me  see!  Let  me  see!" 
she  cried.  But  they  were  torn  from  her  hands,  and  the 
eyes^that  met  hers  blazed  with  the  ferocity  of  a  less 
civilized  century. 

326 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

"You  dare!"  gasped  Piroska — "you  dare!" 

Vilma  had  seen  enough.  "Oh,  very  well,"  she  said 
haughtily.  "I  had  no  idea  a  book  was  like  a  tiger's 
cub.  It  made  me  quite  wild  with  curiosity,  and  I  am 
sorry  we  tore  the  manuscript.  Good-night.  I  would 
not  sit  up  and  copy  it  if  I  were  you.  Your  tooth  will 
be  quite  frightful  to-morrow." 

She  swept  out,  and  locked  the  door  as  she  closed  it. 
Piroska,  too,  might  be  capable  of  using  a  pillow.  She 
took  down  a  candlestick  and  let  herself  noiselessly  into 
the  hall.  It  was  very  dark,  except  for  the  patches  of 
ghostly  moonlight;  but  commonplace  fears  were  un 
known  to  this  girl  of  fighting  ancestors,  of  women  who 
had  suffered  worse  than  death.  She  knew  that  the 
men's  rooms  were  in  the  opposite  wing,  and  she  trav 
ersed  the  long  corridors  between  without  adventure  or 
qualm.  When  she  reached  the  wing  she  saw  light  under 
two  doors;  Zrinyi  had  undoubtedly  sat  up  to  await  the 
return  of  the  Princess.  Which  was  the  American's  door 
she  had  no  means  of  knowing,  but  she  did  not  hesi 
tate.  If  her  knock  summoned  Zrinyi  she  would  tell 
him  that  she  had  a  message  for  his  guest  which  must 
be  delivered  then.  It  brought  Fessenden,  however, 
and  she  stepped  quickly  into  his  room  and  closed  the 
door. 

He  did  not  look  as  astonished  as  she  had  expected, 
but  she  told  her  story  breathlessly  and  begged  him  to  act 
at  once. 

"  It  will  do  no  good  to  intercept  the  report,"  she  added. 
"Even  if  you  could,  she  would  merely  write  another. 
But  let  me  go  to  the  Princess  and  beg  her  to  fly  with  you 
to-morrow  early.  We  could  shut  Piroska  up  for  twenty- 
four  hours.  If  you  do  not  take  this  opportunity  you 
will  never  have  another.  Her  Royal  Highness  must  have 
many  enemies  at  court.  This  will  be  the  final  straw.  If 

327 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

she  is  forced  to  return  to  Vienna  you  will  never  see  her 
again." 

"I  wish  that  report  to  go  to  Vienna  to-morrow,"  said 
Fessenden/"and  if  you  are  not  too  tired  to  sit  down  for 
a  few  moments,  I  will  tell  you  how  you  can  help  us 
when  she  is  once  more  in  the  Hofburg." 


XXVII 

Two  nights  after  her  return  Ranata  went  to  the  opera- 
house  of  Budapest  for  the  last  time.  Much  to  her  cha 
grin  she  was  ten  minutes  late.  Royalty  has  its  privi 
leges  and  virtues.  It  may  exercise  the  courtesy  of 
promptness  without  loss  of  prestige,  and  no  men  and 
women  the  world. over  sit  in  an  opera-box  with  the  same 
ease  and  dignity  and  grace.  From  childhood  they  are 
trained  to  stand  and  sit  without  moving  or  betraying 
fatigue,  and  if  the  frequent  necessity  adds  to  the  sum  of 
their  mortal  expiations,  it  makes  them  as  decorative, 
when  properly  dressed,  as  their  ancient  palaces  and  his 
torical  pageants. 

But  for  one  princess  the  tenor  of  the  day  had  been 
disturbed.  A  sleepless  night  had  resulted  in  an  invol 
untary  nap  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Her  drive 
had  been  late,  and  she  had  returned  home  so  short  a 
time  before  the  early  dinner  that  her  maids  had  detained 
her  through  half  of  it.  She  regretted  having  announced 
her  intention  to  attend  the  opera,  but  it  was  a  premier  et 
and  she  would  have  been  expected  in  any  case. 

The  large  house  was  crowded  with  the  gay  aristocracy 
of  Budapest,  and  with  many  who,  if  not  so  highly 
placed,  could  dress  as  well,  and  contribute  to  the  general 
effect  of  brilliant  beauty:  an  effect  which  owed  more 
than  the  women  would  have  admitted  to  the  varied  and 

328 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

magnificent  uniforms  of  the  officers.  Orders  glittered 
on  black  coats  as  on  colored,  and  every  woman  wore  her 
abundant  store  of  jewels.  But  fans  and  heads  were 
moving  restlessly.  Where  was  their  princess?  It  was 
the  premiere  in  Hungary  of  Massenet's  "Le  Jongleur  de 
Notre  Dame,"  and  this  music-loving  people  were  eager 
for  the  curtain  to  rise. 

At  ten  minutes  past  seven  that  mysterious  electric 
current  that  announces  the  coming  of  royalty  to  the 
sensitive  faculties  of  Europeans  flew  over  the  house; 
bringing  it  to  its  feet,  and  lifting  its  eyes  to  the  gala  box 
facing  the  stage,  as  if  manipulated  by  a  spring. 

Ranata,  accompanied  by  Sarolta  and  Alexandra,  her 
Grand  Chamberlain,  Prince  Illehazy,  and  Count  Zrinyi, 
entered  and  advanced  to  the  front  of  the  box,  acknowl 
edging  the  waving  of  handkerchiefs  and  clapping  of  hands, 
the  well  -  bred  ' '  Ely  ens ' '  and  ' '  Vivats ' '  and  ' '  Hochs. ' ' 
She  wore  white  velvet,  a  small  crown  of  pearls,  and 
many  pearls  on  her  neck.  For  the  first  time  she  showed 
the  wear  of  too  much  thought  and  loss  of  sleep ;  she  was 
pale  rather  than  white,  and  her  eyes  were  listless.  Dur 
ing  the  few  moments  that  she  stood  there,  however, 
while  the  band  played  the  national  anthem,  her  guests 
on  either  side  of  her,  the  admiring  house  saw  only  the 
perfect  carriage  of  her  form  and  head,  the  undimmed 
brilliancy  of  her  hair,  and  that  most  rare  combination 
of  beauty  and  majesty. 

The  anthem  finished,  the  royal  party  took  their  seats, 
the  opera  began.  Ranata  kept  her  eyes  resolutely  bent 
upon  the  stage,  but  although  she  felt  and  had  been  se 
verely  drilled  in  music,  hers  was  the  imagination  which 
escapes  control  under  the  influence  of  the  only  art  that 
penetrates  to  the  key-notes  of  being.  The  spell  of  the 
limpid  semi-religious  music  swirled  round  her  like  a  soft 
tide.  She  saw  far  beyond  the  poor  juggler  apologizing 

329 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

to  the  Virgin  for  desecrating  her  name  that  he  might 
gratify  a  heartless  rabble  and  keep  his  wretched  body 
from  starving ;  and  if  she  forbade  her  eyes  to  wander  over 
the  house,  every  nerve  told  her  that  Fessenden  Abbott 
was  not  there. 

She  had  asked  him  to  leave  Hungary  immediately 
upon  his  return  to  Budapest,  and  she  knew  that  if  he 
had  not  done  so — he  must  await  important  telegrams 
— he  would  not  come  to  the  palace,  nor  to  any  gathering 
where  she  was  sure  to  be.  And  to  attend  the  opera  ex 
cept  in  her  train  would  have  excited  the  comment  both 
wished  to  avoid. 

Whether  he  had  gone  or  not  she  did  not  know,  for  she 
would  not  ask  Alexandra ;  if  indeed  her  friend  knew,  for 
the  brother  and  sister  had  said  good-bye  at  the  station 
in  Budapest.  Ranata,  who  had  been  gifted  with  no 
greater  measure  of  consistency  than  the  rest  of  her  sex, 
had  hoped  to  see  him  while  driving,  while  entering  the 
opera-house,  to  receive  from  him  some  swift  involun 
tary  token  that  he  was  thinking  of  her  as  persistently  as 
she  was  of  him. 

For  she  thought  of  little  else,  and  she  was  aghast  at 
the  power  of  love  to  defy  the  will.  The  emotional 
struggle  had  induced  a  physical  lassitude  she  had  never 
known  before.  That  morning  she  had  risen  with  the 
thought,  "Am  I  going  to  send  for  him  to-day?  Am  I? 
Am  I?"  And  the  question  had  risen  again  and  again, 
acquainting  her  for  the  first  time  with  the  insolent  de 
fiance  of  the  fixed  idea  to  the  higher  qualities  of  the 
brain.  She  had  had  experience  of  the  dual  entity  in  the 
mental  household  before,  but  never  so  complete  a  sense 
of  division,  nor  of  possession  by  faculties  which  seemed 
to  have  forced  an  entrance  into  her  mind  rather  than 
have  risen  from  its  depths. 

She  had  not  sent  for  him,  however,  and  she  hardly 

330 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

knew  whether  she  had  refrained  through  the  exercise  of 
a  will  which  appeared  to  sit  in  a  corner  smiling  with 
amusement,  from  pride,  a  sense  of  futility,  or  merely 
because  the  argument  in  her  mind  had  not  finished  in 
time.  In  any  case  she  felt  so  far  from  her  imperious 
self  that  she  was  almost  as  alarmed  as  she  was  unhappy. 
She  was  filled  with  a  dull  abhorrence  of  the  idea  of  liv 
ing  the  rest  of  her  life  on  the  surface  of  her  nature,  as 
she  was  attempting  to  live  it  to-night.  For  what  else 
was  left  her?  Did  she  become  queen,  and  none  knew 
better  than  she  that  it  was  but  a  possibility  among  a 
thousand  opposing  forces,  she  could  occupy  her  brain 
with  routine  as  her  father  did;  but  in  a  constitutional 
monarchy,  particularly  in  one  as  jealous  of  its  rights  as 
Hungary,  she  would  exercise  so  little  power  that,  with 
her  merciless  clarity  of  vision,  she  must  soon  know  her 
self  for  what  she  was,  an  ornamental  figure-head.  It 
would  be  the  pride  of  the  Hungarians  to  have  the  most 
beautiful  queen  in  Europe,  delight  the  abundant  en 
thusiasm  and  the  loyal  instinct  of  their  natures  to  love 
their  elected  sovereign;  and  they  would  value  her  the 
more  for  a  charm  which  must  unite  all  factions  and  pre 
serve  them  from  internal  conflict.  They  would  vote 
her  immense  sums  to  live  as  a  queen  should,  to  restore 
to  the  old  palace  of  Buda  its  ancient  glories  and  excite 
the  envy  of  Europe.  All  these  things  she  might  have, 
and  she  knew  them  to  be  toys. 

Did  she  sympathize  with  the  tide  of  liberty  rising  in 
the  world,  and  nowhere  so  vigorously  as  in  Hungary? 
She  had  put  the  question  from  her  again  and  again,  and 
it  had  returned  as  often.  Surely  he  had  not  revolu 
tionized  her  brain  to  that  extent;  she  must  be  less  than 
herself  were  she  unfaithful  to  the  monarchical  idea. 
And  yet,  when  her  mind  left  Fesenden  Abbott  it  seemed 
to  her  that  some  mysterious  force  drew  it  to  the  great 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

sullen  heart  of  mankind,  brooding  eternally  on  its  birth- 
fight  of  freedom;  every  instinct  of  independence,  when 
not  crushed  by  the  tyranny  of  the  Turk  or  the  Russian , 
still  blunted  and  pruned  in  a  thousand  petty  and  hu 
miliating  ways.  Would  the  socialists  conquer  William? 
And  then — when  with  greater  liberty  had  come  their 
own  adaptation  to  the  unalterable  facts  of  life  and  human 
nature  —  would  the  world  be  better,  a  more  habitable 
place  for  mankind  in  the  general?  And  was  that  the 
destiny  of  the  human  race — the  happiness  of  the  many, 
not  the  exaltation  of  the  few?  That  it  was  a  great 
thought,  a  grand  theory,  she  did  not  pretend  to  deny. 
But  did  she  sympathize  with  it? 

While  she  assured  herself  contemptuously  that  she 
did  not,  that  the  order  of  the  centuries  must  be  best  mere 
ly  because  it  was,  a  part  of  her  brain  seemed  to  her  to 
accept  the  doctrine,  and  give  itself  no  concern  to  argue. 
She  turned  her  back  upon  it.  Why  argue,  indeed?  A 
month,  a  few  months  hence,  possibly  a  year,  the  influence 
that  now  possessed  her  would  be  so  far  removed  that  her 
mind  would  have  recovered  its  balance,  alien  thoughts 
must  have  sunk  so  deep  that  she  would  only  unearth 
them  now  and  again  as  curiosities.  She  made  up  her 
mind  that  if  Alexandra  did  not  marry  Zrinyi  she  would 
put  an  end  to  the  intimacy  with  herself;  and  it  seemed 
to  her,  in  her  present  unhappy  condition,  that  she  would 
be  insensible  to  further  sorrow.  She  should  indeed 
welcome  complete  loneliness,  barren  of  outward  sug 
gestion.  There  could  be  no  doubt  of  the  triumph,  in 
time,  of  her  strong  will,  of  her  absolute  fidelity,  in 
thought  as  in  deed,  to  the  lofty  station  to  which  she  had 
been  born. 

She  sighed  for  her  lost  superstitions,  rather  for  the 
superstitions  of  her  fathers  which  might  have  been  hers 
had  no  alien  influence  entered  her  life.  How  they  must 

332 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

sustain  the  soul  of  majesty  through  its  trials,  through 
its  loneliness,  through  the  long  martyrdom  of  its  earthly 
course.  There  had  been  times  when  she  had  heard  the 
deep  mutter  of  those  ancient  ghosts,  when  for  a  brief 
hour  they  had  risen  and  possessed  her  brain.  Indeed, 
there  had  been  hours — usually  when  Alexandra's  un 
compromising  practicality  summered  in  its  native  land 
— when  it  had  seemed  to  her  that  in  the  depths  of  her 
soul  was  a  charnel-house  of  hideous  memories,  ambigu 
ous  of  outline,  of  old  corruptions,  unknown  in  her  life  but 
transmitted  with  her  blood,  of  impulses  for  tyranny 
and  cruelty,  and  unbridled  passions,  of  lust  of  blood, 
and  callous  indifference  to  human  suffering.  Philip  the 
Second  and  Joan  the  Mad  were  but  two  of  her  illustrious 
ancestors  who  might  have  sent  filtering  down  the  worst 
traits  and  impulses  which  the  human  heart  is  capable 
of  supporting.  There  had  been  times  when  she  had  be 
lieved  that  had  she  been  born  a  century  earlier  it  would 
have  needed  but  the  circumstances  to  make  her  the 
vilest  of  women.  She  could  have  reigned  with  her  feet 
in  blood  and  loved  as  royal  harlots  have  loved  since 
Messalina  burned  her  pitch  in  history.  And,  she  re 
called,  as  she  listened  to  the  soft  passionless  music  of 
the  opera,  there  had  also  been  moments  when  she  had 
regretted  that  no  such  life  could  be  hers — wondered  if 
indeed  it  had  not  been. 

But  it  was  years  now  since  the  last  of  these  obsessions 
had  risen,  five  or  six,  at  least.  She  had  acquired  great 
control  over  herself;  moreover,  they  had  rested  impotent 
under  healthy  influences;  and  assuredly  in  the  company 
of  Fessenden  Abbott  she  could  not  have  evoked  their 
memory,  the  ghosts  of  those  old  ghosts.  Would  it  not 
perhaps  be  better  if  she  could?  Would  not  even  the 
occasional  demoralization  of  her  spiritual  nature  be  a 
lesser  sin  than  this  treachery  to  the  divinity  in  her  royal 

333 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

blood?  Were  she  steeped  in  superstition  she  might 
have  known  her  lover  better  than  she  had;  but  the 
temptation  to  marry  him,  the  persistent  disposition  to 
look  at  life  from  his  point  of  view,  would  never  have  as 
sailed  her  for  a  moment. 

Her  eyes  during  this  long  reverie,  interrupted  only 
by  an  entr'acte,  were  fixed  upon  the  stage.  The  surface 
of  her  brain  had  taken  its  impression  of  the  interior  of 
the  monastery  where  the  starving  mountebank,  cursed 
by  the  prior  for  his  blasphemy,  had  been  enticed  that 
he  might  find  absolution  in  the  life  of  a  monk  and  fill 
his  stomach  daily.  The  priests  and  friars  in  their  rich 
white  cassocks,  the  brown  interior  of  the  monastic  room, 
made  a  harmonious  and  insidious  picture,  and  the  de 
spair  of  the  miserable  youth  while  the  other  cenobites 
boasted  of  the  arts — painting,  sculpture,  poetry,  music 
— with  which  they  glorified  the  Virgin,  drew  tears  from 
many  sympathetic  eyes. 

The  juggler  and  a  kindly  friar  were  alone,  and  the 
elect  was  pouring  into  the  astonished  ear  of  the  poor 
ignoramus  the  story  of  the  birth  of  Christ  in  a  manger, 
and  explaining  that  the  Lady  of  Sorrows  understood 
not  only  Latin,  but  all  languages,  and  even  dialects,  and 
had  as  merciful  an  ear  for  the  outcast  as  for  the  king. 
The  mountebank,  with  his  primitive  credulity,  his  almost 
maniacal  terror  under  the  curse  of  the  abbot,  is  a  vivid 
study  of  superstition  in  the  Middle  Ages.  As  Ranata's 
attention  was  captured  for  the  moment  by  the  intensity 
of  the  final  moments  of  the  act,  she  found  herself  envy 
ing  the  simplicity  of  a  creature  as  capable,  in  his  primal 
limitations,  of  the  extremest  satisfaction  and  happiness 
as  of  terror  and  despair.  The  second  entr'acte  is  very 
short.  A  few  moments  after  the  curtain  rises  the  im 
pressive  double  row  of  friars  in  their  sumptuous  cas 
socks  march  out  of  the  chapel  to  their  own  solemn  mu- 

334 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

sic,  and  the  mountebank  enters  alone,  throws  off  his 
monastic  robe,  and  in  his  costume  of  a  harlequin  offers 
his  juggler's  art  to  the  glorification  of  the  painted  Virgin 
above  the  altar.  It  is  a  scene  almost  incredible  in  its 
childish  superstition,  but  so  pathetic  that  in  that  rapt 
audience  neither  Jew  nor  Protestant  paid  his  brain  the 
tribute  of  a  smile.  Ranata,  of  all  persons,  saw  no  hu 
mor  in  it,  for  her  mind  traversed  the  history  of  her 
race,  and  halted  suddenly  at  the  memory  of  Maria 
Theresia,  who  had  sent  her  daughters  down  alone  into 
the  imperial  crypt  on  the  eve  of  their  marriage  to  pray 
among  the  coffins  of  their  ancestors.  She  recalled  how 
she  herself  had  sometimes  felt  an  impulse  to  go  down 
there  in  the  night  and  do  likewise,  that  she  might  satisfy 
that  something  in  the  depths  of  her  soul  so  akin  to  those 
who  had  dwelt  in  the  benighted  past. 

Her  attitude  suddenly  lost  its  graceful  ease.  She 
stiffened  and  sat  erect  as  if  about  to  spring;  but  the 
eye  of  the  house  was  focussed  on  the  stage  and  she  was 
forgotten.  Was  not  the  time  come  for  that  nocturnal 
pilgrimage?  Might  not  she  there,  among  those  four 
centuries  of  her  dead,  steep  herself  in  that  subtle  aura 
of  personality  which  still  must  diffuse  itself  through  lead 
and  bronze  ?  Alone  there,  at  midnight,  with  but  the  light 
of  a  taper  to  illumine  those  motley  hillocks,  with  the 
dank  odor  of  death  clogging  her  senses,  kneeling  close 
to  the  dust  and  the  corruption  which  had  lived  so  in 
tensely  with  the  blood  that  ran  in  her  own  veins,  must 
she  not  recapture  her  inherited  superstitions,  break  with 
the  present,  absorb  once  more  the  poison  of  the  past? 
She  realized  that  it  was  not  to  satisfy  her  sense  of  kin 
ship  with  the  dead  that  she  should  now  go  to  them  alone 
at  midnight,  but  to  revive  the  lost  sense  of  indissoluble 
relationship,  of  similarities,  of  the  closest  likeness  of 
which  inherited  blood  and  brain-cells  are  capable.  She 

335 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

should  kneel  finally  at  the  foot  of  Rudolf's  coffin,  and 
pray  there  until  she  was  a  Hapsburg  once  more. 

Heavy  and  abnormal  as  her  brain  was  from  fatigue, 
sleeplessness,  passionate  misery  of  thought,  and  reac 
tion  from  the  exalted  mood  of  her  last  interview  with 
Fessenden,  still  it  seemed  to  her  that  it  drew  away  in 
modern  disgust  from  the  idea  that  had  risen  pre 
cipitately  in  its  middle  and  taken  possession.  But 
Ranata  clung  to  that  idea  as  to  her  one  hope  of  salvation  ; 
and  as  the  Virgin  and  the  angels,  which  had  appeared  in 
place  of  the  picture  above  the  altar,  to  reveal  the 
eternal  beauty  of  simple  faith  to  the  indignant  priests, 
were  growing  more  luminous,  and  at  the  same  time, 
so  perfect  the  art,  less  and  less  material,  and  the  poor 
juggler's  spirit  was  struggling  from  its  flesh,  she  matured 
the  details  of  her  plan;  and  half  an  hour  later,  when  she 
descended  from  the  carriage  in  the  palace  court-yard, 
she  asked  Sarolta  to  be  ready  to  accompany  her  to 
Vienna  on  the  following  day. 


XXVIII 

Fessenden  had  found  his  telegrams  awaiting  him,  and 
started  at  once  for  Berlin.  While  the  ghosts  in  Ranata 
were  chuckling  their  recognition  to  the  painted  super 
stitions  of  the  stage,  he  was  in  the  royal  palace,  in 
the  comfortable  English-looking  study  overlooking  the 
Schlossplatz.  On  the  north  corner  of  the  huge  brown 
pile  floated  the  purple  banner  which  informs  the  people 
of  Berlin  that  their  "Travelling  Kaiser"  is  visiting  at 
home. 

The  Emperor  was  pleasurably  at  home  this  evening, 
for,  although  he  was  too  much  of  a  soldier  to  lounge,  he 
wore  a  smoking- jacket  and  sat  deep  in  one  of  his  English 

336 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

chairs;  the  color  of  animation  was  in  his  pale  face,  and 
his  eyes,  always  expressive  and  brilliant,  sparkled  with  a 
more  personal  emotion. 

It  was  night.  His  courtiers,  his  ministers,  his  generals, 
his  supplicants,  were  on  the  other  side  of  the  door, 
and  he  could  be  wholly  himself  for  an  hour  with  the 
one  man  who  neither  feared  nor  flattered  him,  to  whom 
he  had  given  a  large  portion  of  his  own  warm  affections, 
and  who,  in  return,  gave  him  the  sincerest  friendship  he 
would  ever  know. 

Fessenden's  chair  was  drawn  close  to  the  fire,  and  he 
was  sipping  a  Scotch-and-soda.  It  was  a  night  for  a 
comfortable  talk  in  a  warm  bright  room,  surrounded 
by  books  and  a  man's  more  intimate  belongings;  for 
the  wind  howled  about  the  corner  of  the  palace  and 
dashed  the  rain  against  the  glass.  Fessenden's  eyes 
were  sparkling  also,  but  with  excitement,  and  he  was 
more  nervous  than  he  usually  permitted  his  manner  to 
betray. 

"Within  a  week,"  the  Emperor  was  saying,  "the  Arch 
duchess  will  be  summoned  to  Vienna  on  one  pretence  or 
another.  The  plan  is  to  make  her  a  prisoner  in  her  own 
rooms  until  she  promises  to  marry  the  Archduke  Aloys 
Franz.  I  suggested  him  on  account  of  his  commanding 
qualities  as  a  disciplinarian;  you  will  recall  that  they 
married  the  Princess  Marie  Stefanie  to  him  when  her 
liaison  with  her  tenor  was  discovered.  He  imprisoned 
her  on  one  of  his  estates,  never  permitted  her  to  leave  it 
for  a  day,  and  when  she  lost  a  front  tooth  mortified  her 
!  vanity  by  refusing  her  the  services  of  a  dentist — she  was 
a  beauty,  poor  little  thing!  As  a  husband  for  refractory 
i princesses  he  is  without  a  peer;  and  my  indirect  sugges 
tion  met  with  instant  favor  from  the  Emperor,  who  is 
I  distracted  between  the  jealousies  of  the  court  and  the 
new  motive  for  disturbance  in  the  caldron  of  Hungary. 

337 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

The  full  information — furnished  by  the  maid-of-honor 
and  other  spies — of  her  love  for  you  was  the  last  straw ; 
and  much  as  the  Emperor  loves  peace  and  quiet,  when 
the  moment  comes  to  act  he  acts.  The  Archduchess, 
of  course,  will  not  marry  Aloys  Franz.  We  know  her; 
elaboration  of  that  statement  is  superfluous.  But 
several  weeks  of  solitary  meditation  will  probably  con 
vince  her  that,  as  her  ambitions  are  thwarted,  she  may 
as  well  marry  you  and  be  happy.  Confinement  will 
reduce  her  to  an  abnormal  state,  where  love  will  seem 
the  only  object  for  living." 

He  left  his  chair  and  moved  restlessly  about  the  room. 
"I  don't  like  it!"  he  announced  in  his  harsh  emphatic 
voice.  "It  is  unheard  of.  It  is  a  dangerous  precedent. 
We  shall  have  other  dissatisfied  and  romantic  princesses 
following  her  example.  Take  one  stone  out  of  the 
monarchical  edifice  and  it  is  impossible  to  foresee  the 
end.  God  knows,  we  are  shaky  enough  now.  I  tell  you 
frankly,  Fessenden,  that  I  should  assist  in  no  such 
revolution  solely  out  of  friendship  for  even  you;  but  to 
get  her  out  of  Europe  is  the  less  of  two  evils.  I  have 
been  called  the  trigger  of  Europe.  She  is  the  firebrand 
charged  with  dynamite.  She  was  dangerous  enough 
before.  Now  that  she  has  fallen  in  love,  the  only  thing 
to  do  is  to  marry  her  to  the  object  as  quickly  as  possible. 
Balked,  and  thrown  in  upon  herself,  she  would  set 
Europe  in  flames  merely  to  distract  her  mind  and 
gratify  some  other  passion."  He  swung  round  abruptly 
and  laughed.  "I  must  say,  Fessenden,  that  while  I 
am  delighted  to  be  able  to  help  you  get  the  woman 
you  want,  I  don't  envy  you.  I  shouldn't  say  she  was 
the  sort  of  woman  a  man  could  settle  down  and  have 
a  comfortable  time  with." 

"I  want  nothing  more  nor  less,"  said  Fessenden;  and 
'-,he  Emperor  laughed  again,  although  his  generous  nat- 

338 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

ure  was  gratified  at  the  opportunity  to  be  of  service  to 
his  friend. 

"It  will  be  rather  more  than  less,"  he  said.  "I  have 
known  her  since  childhood,  and  while  I  admire  her  more 
in  certain  respects  than  any  woman  living,  I  am  not 
precisely  blind  to  her  faults.  I  will  confess  that  I  shook 
her  once,  a  good  many  years  ago,  when  I  was  visiting 
Rudolf,  and  that  she  bit  and  scratched  me  in  return 
However,  the  one  man  can  always  manage  the  woman 
of  strong  passions,  so  I  wish  you  joy." 

"Thanks;  and  don't  let  my  domestic  prospects  worry 
you.  Are  you  perfectly  sure  of  your  man,  by  the  way?" 

"Oh,  perfectly.  He  has  the  ear  of  the  Emperor  and 
the  Crown  Prince,  and,  while  by  no  means  false  to  them, 
is  so  good  a  friend  of  mine  that  he  would  do  more  than 
that  if  I  asked  it  of  him.  Moreover,  he  has  the  con 
fidence  of  Konigsegg." 

"Suppose  they  should  suspect  that  you  put  him  up 
to  it?  That  would  ruin  everything.  They  are  quite 
as  afraid  of  you  as  they  are  of  her." 

"No  diplomat  in  Europe  is  more  discreet — or  finer  in 
his  methods.  He  has  dropped  the  poison  by  degrees. 
His  first  references  to  the  astonishing  popularity  of  the 
Archduchess  in  Hungary  were  almost  inadvertent,  and 
at  the  same  time  accompanied  with  enthusiastic  com 
ments  upon  her  talents.  Her  conquest  of  the  Inde 
pendents  was  the  last  straw.  The  Emperor  has  been 
convinced  that  they  would  proclaim  her  queen  the 
moment  he  died.  Was  it  your  suggestion  that  they 
met  her  in  a  body  at  the  train  when  she  arrived  from 
Transylvania?" 

"I  put  Molna"r  and  one  or  two  others  up  to  it,  al 
though  they  are  quite  convinced  it  was  their  own 
idea." 

"  I  am  thankful  you  are  my  friend,  for  I  shouldn't  want 
339 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

your  finger  in  my  political  pie!  Well,  Ranata  will  never 
see  Budapest  after  this  week — if  you  are  quick  enough. 
If  she  should  devil  the  poor  old  Emperor  into  his  grave 
while  he  was  trying  to  bring  her  to  terms,  I  should  not 
venture  to  answer  for  the  consequences.  What  is  your 
next  move?  I  see  no  further.  How  shall  you  get  her 
out  of  the  Hofburg?  Bribe  the  guards?  It  will  be 
difficult.  The  Emperor  will  guard  her  well.  She  could 
hardly  disguise  herself  and  slip  out.  How  shall  you 
manage  to  communicate  with  her?" 

"Do  not  exercise  your  imagination  over  possibilities 
of  escape,  for  I  have  no  idea  of  attempting  any.  I 
intend  to  marry  her  with  the  Emperor's  consent.  Not 
very  graciously  given,  perhaps,  but  still — " 

"Oh,  Fessenden!"  The  Emperor  spoke  impatiently. 
He  had  paused  on  the  hearth-rug,  and  stood  there  with 
his  left  hand  resting  lightly  on  his  hip,  the  familiar  sword- 
hilt  being  absent,  the  right  gesticulating  slightly,  with 
a  constant  movement  of  the  wrist  and  an  occasional 
pointing  of  the  index  finger.  "That,  my  dear  boy,"  he 
added  kindly,  "is  just  the  one  thing  that  even  you  can 
not  accomplish.  That  you  will  get  the  Archduchess 
sooner  or  later  I  have  no  doubt.  When  a  woman  like 
that  loves  a  man—  He  shot  his  hand  up  expressively. 
"  It  may  be  that  I  shall  have  an  inspiration  of  some  sort 
and  help  you  further,  but  I  cannot  act  openly  or  I  would 
invite  her  here.  But  I  have  every  faith  in  your  re 
source." 

"You  will  have  more  when  I  tell  you  my  plan." 

The  Emperor's  keen  eyes  met  his,  and  they  measured 
each  other  as  they  had  a  habit  of  doing. 

"Well?"  asked  the  Emperor  of  Germany. 

Fessenden  stood  up  and  thrust  his  hands  into  his 
pockets.  His  nervousness  had  gone,  and  his  eyes  were 
hard  and  brilliant.  "  What  do  you  suppose  the  Emperor 

340 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

would  give  to  restore  the  ancient  strength  and  prestige  of 
Austria?"  he  asked,  in  the  cool  and  even  tones  he  em 
ployed  in  his  Wall  Street  offices.  "To  obliterate  the 
memory  of  1866?  To  finish  his  long  and  unhappy  reign 
gloripusly?" 

4 'What  on  earth  are  you  driving  at?  I  never  heard 
you  talk  at  random  before." 

"You  have  never  heard  me  talk  at  random.  What 
would  he  give  in  return  for  such  a  certainty?" 

"More  than  Ranata.  But  I  hate  riddles!"  His  eyes 
flashed.  The  blood  burned  his  cheek.  He  knew  Fes- 
enden,  and  was  sure  that  he  was  not  listening  to  bom 
bast.  His  curiosity  and  impatience  nearly  choked  him. 
"Come!  Come!"  he  said.  "What  idea  have  you  in 
your  head?  After  South  America  I  am  prepared  for 
anything.  If  you  were  not  such  a  good  fellow  I  should 
hate  you — but  go  on." 

"Perhaps  what  all  the  world  most  wants  next  to  the 
fulfilment  of  its  personal  desires,"  continued  Fessenden 
imperturbably,  "is  the  obliteration  of  its  most  actively 
malignant  forces.  The  most  malignant  force  in  the 
world  to-day  is  Russia;  in  a  lesser  degree,  Turkey. 
These  countries,  by  their  unredeemable  barbarism,  com 
pass  the  utter  misery  of  more  millions  of  helpless  human 
beings  than  all  the  other  causes  in  the  rest  of  the  world 
that  conduce,  in  the  natural  order  of  things,  to  un- 
happiness.  Moreover,  Russia  is  the  one  menace  which 
prevents  Europe  and  England  from  enjoying  a  moment's 
security.  She  creeps  and  creeps,  and  never  retraces  a 
step.  In  far-sightedness  Russia  is  the  greatest  genius 
among  nations,  and  she  is  absolutely  unscrupulous; 
the  tyro  in  diplomacy  does  not  trust  her,  and  yet  she 
outwits  again  and  again.  There  is  a  hideous  possibility 
of  her  eventual  triumph,  and  the  day  she  weakens  the 
power  of  England,  puts  her  nose  in  the  Persian  Gulf, 

34i 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

flows  over  Turkey,  that  day  sounds  the  passing  bell  of 
modern  civilization.  Therefore,  the  power  or  powers 
that  hamstring  this  anomaly  in  the  twentieth  century, 
forcing  her  to  crouch  with  her  feet  in  the  sand  like  a 
malignant  but  helpless  sphinx  until  invading  progress 
has  taught  her  wisdom — these  powers  would  achieve 
an  immortality  in  history  which  they  could  compass  by 
means  of  no  other  modern  conditions.  Am  I  not  right  ?" 

The  Emperor  nodded.  He  was  very  pale.  Not  only 
had  Fessenden  pricked  from  its  drugged  sleep  one  of  the 
passionate  hopes  of  his  early  manhood,  but  he  knew  that 
the  American  was  no  idle  dreamer,  that  he  had  already 
accomplished  the  impossible.  He  had  to  sensation  of 
standing  spellbound  on  the  threshold  of  a  miraculous 
future  towards  which  the  great  forces  within  him  had 
moved  precisely  since  the  birth  of  the  worlds.  But 
the  impression  was  hardly  realized ;  his  faculties  were  con 
centrated  upon  the  utterance  of  the  man  who  no  longer 
looked  young,  in  whose  aspect  was  no  trace  of  the  lover 
of  the  Archduchess  of  Austria,  who,  indeed,  looked 
little  more  than  an  intellect,  using  a  casual  body  as  a 
convenient  medium.  Abbott  asked  his  next  question  so 
abruptly  that  the  Emperor  stiffened  into  an  attitude 
not  unlike  that  of  a  midnight  sentry  alarmed  by  a  sud 
den  footfall. 

"You  know  what  I  have  been  trying  to  do  in  my 
factory  out  West?" 

"Well?" 

"The  experiments  are  perfected.  The  kites— and  they 
are  as  beautiful  as  they  are  deadly— can  be  sent  by  elec 
tricity  to  an  incalculable  distance,  and  each  one  will  rain 
down  dynamite  enough  to  kill  a  thousand  men  at  a  time 
if  they  are  close  enough  together.  The  generators  to 
charge  storage  batteries  have,  by  other  experiments, 
been  so  reduced  in  size  and  weight  that  they  hardly 

342 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

count  among  the  effects  of  a  travelling  army.  The 
enemy  could  be  routed  in  ten  minutes.  Even  balloons 
are  not  necessary,  except  for  reconnoitring.  You  also 
know  of  the  other  invention,  no  less  important.  That 
is  perfected.  The  steel  forts  are  not  only  impregnable, 
but  the  secret  has  been  discovered  of  moving  elec 
trically  operated  machines  over  any  sort  of  ground. 
So  far,  moving  forts,  bicycles,  automobiles  have  been 
useless  except  on  good  roads.  These  forts  will  travel 
without  so  much  as  a  lowering  of  speed  over  the  worst 
that  nature  has  to  offer;  there  is  even  an  apparatus,  on 
the  principles  of  the  flying-machine,  which  will  carry 
them  over  swamps  and  rivers.  Do  you  see  my  drift  ?" 

The  Emperor's  face  would  have  looked  like  wax  but 
for  the  severity  of  its  lines.  "Good  God!"  he  muttered 
finally.  "  If  this  is  true  it  will  make  you  the  master  of 
the  world." 

"It  will  make  you  the  master  of  Europe." 

"What  riddle  now?"  He  spoke  thickly,  but  involun 
tarily  twitched  his  shoulders.  He  was  quick  to  resent 
any  attempt  to  manage  him. 

"  The  Spanish  War  has  come  and  gone.  I  have  no  use 
for*  these  new  weapons  of  war.  They  must  be  used  at 
once,  for  ideas  are  microbes.  A  few  years  hence — a  year 
hence — and  the  discoveries  may  be  universal.  If  I  had 
never  met  Ranata  I  should  have  presented  them  to  you 
and  told  you  to  go  ahead,  and  in  the  name  of  humanity 
wipe  Russia  and  Turkey,  in  the  form  they  now  exist,  off 
the  map.  I  want  to  see  you  at  the  helm  while  you  are 
still  young,  and  discouragements  and  disappointments 
have  not  crushed  all  the  enthusiasm  out  of  you.  The 
world  has  waited  and  waited  for  you  to  do  the  great 
thing,  not  realizing  your  difficulties,  and  that  it  was 
your  purpose  to  make  Germany  strong  and  prosperous 
before  launching  it  into  a  great  war;  your  crusade  will 

343 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

be  looked  upon  as  quite  in  keeping  with  your  character. 
And  you  are  the  only  man  on  this  side  of  the  water 
capable  of  handling  a  great  empire.  So,  I  repeat,  I 
should  have  offered  you  this  new  power  in  any  case. 
Now  I  ask  you  to  use  it  as  a  bait  for  the  Emperor  of 
Austria.  Owing  to  your  alliance  it  would  be  a  natural 
act;  unless  you  could  afford  to  wait  for  his  death,  which 
you  cannot.  Tell  him  that  if  he  refuses  you  will  swallow 
him  too.  But  he  can  hardly  hesitate  to  snatch  at  the 
one  compensation  for  the  failures  of  his  reign  and  life. 
Such  of  the  conquered  territory  as  you  may  have  to 
yield  to  him  will  flow  to  you  naturally  at  his  death, 
for  his  heir  could  not  hold  it,  and  you  may  be  sure  that, 
as  the  initiator  of  so  magnificent  and  beneficent  a  con 
quest,  and  as  the  younger  and  more  picturesque  of  the 
majesties,  you  will  be  the  idol  of  Austria-Hungary,  as 
well  as  the  hero  of  the  world.  France  can  be  as  easily 
disposed  of  as  Russia,  and  indeed  every  intelligent  power 
will  let  you  alone  after  your  first  battle.  Of  course  you 
can  have  all  the  money  you  want  should  you  meet  with 
opposition  in  the  Reichstag.  That  offer  has  always 
stood.  As  for  the  excuse  for  war,  it  will  be  simple 
enough  to  whip  up  a  disturbance  in  the  Balkans.  A 
few  discreet  agents,  a  revolutionary  committee,  surrepti 
tious  presents  of  arms,  and  Bulgaria  or  Macedonia  is  in 
flames.  A  secret  understanding  with  Ferdinand  and  he 
will  do  anything  to  get  Russia  off  his  back.  Then  when 
the  pot  is  boiling,  and  the  so-called  Christians  are 
sprinkling  their  gore  on  their  own  unspeakable  filth, 
announce  to  Christendom  that  Christian  rulers  can 
stand  no  more,  impose  impossible  conditions  on  Russia, 
and  sail  in.  There  will  be  enough  of  these  weapons  of 
destruction  ready  before  the  end  of  three  months  to 
conquer  the  whole  of  Europe,  and  no  more  time  is 
necessary  to  manipulate  the  Balkans." 

344 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

He  paused  abruptly,  and  again  the  two  men  stared 
hard  and  long  at  each  other.  The  pallor  and  the  burning 
eyes  of  both  testified  to  the  passionate  emotion  they 
controlled.  Fessenden  had  permitted  eagerness  to 
creep  neither  into  his  tones  nor  manner,  but  he  felt  as 
if  he  were  standing  in  the  dock  awaiting  a  sentence  of 
life  or  death.  The  Emperor  felt  as  if  he  had  been 
whirled  back  to  the  first  years  of  his  reign,  when  all 
things  seemed  possible  to  a  young  and  indomitable  ruler. 
And  that  reign  had  been  one  long  and  desperate  strug 
gle  between  his  autocratic  instincts  and  the  deep  and 
persistent  desire  for  the  extreme  rights  of  man  among  a 
large  division  of  his  subjects.  He  had  given  them  much, 
but  they  wanted  more;  and  being  advised  by  flatterers, 
and  so  far  removed  from  contact  with  the  masses,  he 
looked  upon  the  greater  part  of  their  demands  with 
angry  impatience.  But  no  ruler  had  ever  brought  a 
more  lofty  enthusiasm  to  reform,  and  he  had  been 
thwarted  by  ignorance,  and  conservative  stupidity,  and 
personal  hatred,  until  he  sometimes  felt  that  the  day 
might  not  be  far  distant  when  he  should  shrug  his 
shoulders  and  simmer  down  into  the  routine  of  other 
sovereigns.  It  was  true  he  had  accomplished  many 
things  and  he  had  made  a  great  city  of  Berlin  and  a 
wealthy  state  of  Prussia ;  but  when  he  thought  of  his  old 
ambitions  he  felt  sick  with  the  futility  of  life.  Fessen 
den 's  abrupt  proposition  had  given  him  a  moment  of 
unutterable  happiness,  then  almost  paralyzed  his  fac 
ulties.  He  wondered  if  he  should  awake  and  find  him 
self  alone,  still  compelled  to  profess  friendship  for  the 
enemy  of  civilization. 

Fessenden  continued.  "Ranata,  of  course,  will  for 
mally  renounce  all  rights  to  the  throne.  But  the  Em 
peror's  consent  I  will  have,  if  only  as  a  concession 
of  Europe  to  the  United  States — a  formal  recognition 

345 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

of  her  absolute  equality  among  nations.  I  forgot  to 
tell  you  that  the  details  of  these  inventions  have  been 
so  worked  out  that  no  one  but  my  head  electrician  and 
myself  knows  them  all,  and  the  exact  combinations. 
And  he  is  not  only  a  man  of  honor,  but  no  crowned  head 
in  Europe  could  offer  him  a  bribe  comparable  to  what 
he  will  receive  from  me  on  the  day  of  your  first  battle 
with  Russia." 

The  Emperor  came  out  of  his  reverie.  "Have  you 
samples  here?" 

"They  are  in  the  custom-house.  They  have  not  been 
examined,  and  await  your  order  to  pass  them  through 
unopened.  The  electrician  is  also  here.  My  father 
arrives  to-morrow.  We  can  have  an  object-lesson  on 
Saturday." 

"Let  us  have  it  by  all  means,"  said  the  Emperor  of 
Germany. 

XXIX 

Vienna,  the  stately  brown  city,  so  haughty  without,  so 
simple  within.  Vienna,  the  city  of  beautiful  men  and 
women,  of  fastidious  breeding  and  dispersing  forces. 
Vienna,  the  gay,  the  wanton,  the  merciless.  Vienna,  the 
city  of  the  dead  soul ;  the  great  actress  whose  still  perfect 
shell  moves  mechanically  upon  the  stage,  not  knowing 
under  what  sudden  stroke  she  may  tremble  and  disap 
pear.  In  no  city  on  earth  is  life  so  full  of  charm  and  yet 
of  unreality,  no  city  where  one  feels  so  alive  and  yet  so 
encompassed  by  dreams,  where  to  the  American  New 
York  is  not,  but  a  superlative  civilization  with  the  taint 
of  the  Middle  Ages  in  its  brain. 

Ranata  felt  something  of  this  luscious  yet  corrupt 
flavor  of  her  native  city  as  she  drove  from  the  station 
to  the  Hofburg;  but  vaguely,  for  her  contrasts  were  few. 

346 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

Moreover,  her  father  had  met  her,  and  was  talking  con 
stantly  and  somewhat  at  random.  If  Ranata  had  not 
been  preoccupied  she  would  have  noticed  the  evident 
embarrassment  in  his  manner  and  his  elaborate  attempt 
at  dissimulation.  He  was  more  affectionate  than  was 
his  wont ;  a  shade  less  of  his  perfect  breeding  and  he  would 
have  appeared  apologetic.  But  his  daughter's  brain  was 
heavy  and  absorbed  by  one  idea.  Sarolta  was  driving  to 
her  own  palace,  and  Ranata  was  anxious  to  take  ad 
vantage  of  these  few  moments  with  her  father.  Suddenly 
he  gave  her  the  opportunity  she  wished.  He  remarked 
in  the  tone  of  one  whose  masculine  recesses  have  re 
ceived  a  welcome  illumination: 

"I  suppose,  my  dear,  that  you  have  come  to  Vienna 
to  have  a  personal  conference  with  your  dressmakers." 

"No,"  said  Ranata,  and  it  was  notable  that  she  did 
not  smile;  "I  have  come  to  ask  a  great  favor  of  your 
Majesty,  and  I  beg  that  you  will  predispose  yourself  to 
grant  it." 

The  Emperor  stiffened,  the  natural  act  of  a  monarch 
whose  life  is  passed  with  those  that  crave  the  royal  fa 
vor.  But  the  act  to-day  was  more  than  mechanical; 
there  were  several  portentous  favors  this  extraordinary 
daughter  of  his  might  have  nerved  herself  to  ask — 
might  indeed  have  deluded  herself  she  was  in  a  position 
to  ask— and  the  very  thought  of  them  turned  him  to 
steel. 

"Weil?"  he  demanded. 

"It  is  a  singular  request,  sir,  for  it  is  for  permission 
to  revive  an  ancient  custom  of  our  house.  I  wish  to  go 
down  into  the  crypt  alone  on  this  midnight  and  pray  by 
the  coffin  of  Rudolf." 

The  Emperor  drew  a  long  breath  of  relief.  There  was 
nothing  remarkable  to  him  in  the  request,  for  he  believed 
his  daughter  to  be  as  devout  a  Catholic  as  himself.  "  How 

347 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

could  a  Hapsburg  be  otherwise?"  he  would  have  asked, 
if  questioned;  and  dismissed  the  subject.  Nevertheless, 
he  divined  that  her  mind  must  be  in  heavy  shadow  to 
prompt  an  immediate  act  of  devotion  at  some  incon 
venience,  when  any  other  time  would  have  done  as  well. 
Scrutinizing  her  face,  he  saw  the  change  in  it,  even 
through  the  disguise  of  a  veil  with  heavy  dots.  Trained 
in  detail,  he  remembered  that  he  had  never  seen  her 
wear  such  a  veil  before.  His  experienced  brain  trav 
elled  to  the  natural  solution.  There  was  truth  in  the 
story  that  she  loved  the  American;  and  she  wished  to 
do  penance  among  the  tombs  of  her  ancestors.  That 
meant,  of  course,  that  the  affair  was  closed,  that  when 
she  had  realized  the  enormity  of  her  folly  she  had  has 
tened  to  mortify  her  flesh  and  spirit  in  a  worthy  manner. 
He  had  not  been  surprised  to  hear  that  she  loved  at  last, 
but  he  wondered  at  the  security  into  which  he  had  fallen 
during  the  preceding  ten  years,  deluded,  like  others,  by 
her  superb  indifference ;  and  the  evident  marks  of  suffer 
ing  he  saw  in  her  face  to-day  in  no  wise  set  his  heart  at 
odds  with  his  purpose  to  marry  her  at  once.  Even  were 
he  not  now  convinced  that  she  might  at  any  moment  be 
come  a  menace  to  the  Dual  Monarchy,  or  had  he  been 
less  harassed  by  those  that  feared  and  hated  her,  he  still 
would  have  used  his  authority  to  marry  her  without 
delay.  He  knew  the  weaknesses  of  his  blood,  and  was 
determined  that  her  very  obvious  genius  to  make  the 
world  ring  with  a  scandal  should  be  clogged  immediate 
ly.  He  resolved,  however,  to  defer  the  subject  until  the 
morrow,  snatching  at  the  prospect  that  the  midnight 
vigil  would  subdue  and  chasten  her  spirit.  He  an 
swered  as  if  he  had  given  her  request  due  consideration  : 
"There  is  no  objection,  if  you  are  sure  you  have  the 
strength  to  go  through  the  ordeal — that  you  will  not 
have  an  attack  of  hysteria.  Of  course  " — in  response  to 

343 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

an  indignant  ejaculation — "  I  know  you  are  not  that  sort 
of  woman,  but  it  will  be  a  trying  hour.  Sarolta  must 
accompany  you  to  the  church;  she  can  wait  for  you  in 
one  of  the  chapels  or  in  the  carriage.  And  a  friar  will 
go  down  with  you  to  hold  the  taper.  I  insist  upon  that." 

"Very  well,"  said  Ranata  listlessly.  The  friar  would 
be  an  integral  part  of  the  scene,  like  enough  to  those 
who  had  gone  down  with  her  ancestors,  dead  and  alive. 

She  sat  through  the  early  dinner  with  her  father,  but 
five  o'clock  was  now  her  hour  for  tea,  and  she  made  a 
bare  pretence  to  eat.  She  wondered  if  she  would  be 
hungry  in  the  crypt,  then  scowled  so  severely  at  her  lev 
ity  that  Count  von  Konigsegg,  who  was  watching  her, 
feared  that  her  suspicions  had  been  roused  by  something 
in  the  dull  flow  of  conversation.  Several  of  the  arch 
dukes  were  present,  besides  the  many  members  of  the 
Emperor's  household,  and  they  were  mildly  discussing 
a  crisis  in  the  Reichsrath.  The  minister  had  greeted 
her  coldly.  He  was  profoundly  annoyed  at  the  sensa 
tion  she  had  made,  and  the  consequent  failure  of  their 
carefully  laid  plans.  That  she  would  play  her  cards  in 
Hungary  with  the  historic  tact  of  the  Hapsburgs  he  had 
made  no  doubt,  and  that  she  could  fascinate  and  beguile 
he  had  had  personal  evidence ;  but  that  she  had  in  her 
the  elements  of  a  public  popularity,  so  desirable  in  a 
sovereign,  and  so  reprehensible  in  anything  less  than  the 
acknowledged  heir  to  the  throne,  he  had  not  for  a  mo 
ment  suspected.  These  last  weeks  had  left  him  aghast, 
for  he  was  by  no  means  desirous  of  the  slightest  disturb 
ance  in  the  present  order  of  things,  nor  to  be  the  victim 
of  suspicion  from  those  who  might  one  day  be  in  a  posi 
tion  to  elevate  or  ruin  him.  He  had  been  prepared  to 
declare  for  the  Archduchess  if  she  played  her  part  prop 
erly,  and  her  star  shot  up  at  precisely  the  right  moment; 
but  for  the  present  he  was  puzzled  how  to  act.  His  in- 

349 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

stinct  was  to  desert  the  sinking  ship,  but  he  found  it 
difficult  to  connect  Ranata  with  the  idea  of  failure; 
she  looked,  pallid  and  extinguished  as  she  was,  cast  for  a 
great  part — not  endowed  by  Nature  with  the  finest  gifts 
of  the  Hapsburgs  to  languish  in  obscurity.  He  did  not 
approve  of  marrying  her.  The  Emperor's  course  must 
be  nearly  run,  and  she  would  be  a  valuable  card  to 
hold  when  the  anticipated  calamities  fell  upon  them. 
However,  the  man  selected  was  of  Hapsburg  blood ;  no 
vow  of  renunciation  would  be  required  of  her,  and  at  the 
right  moment  she  could  be  summoned  forth.  Perhaps 
it  was  as  well;  for  what  to  do  with  her  meanwhile,  he 
confessed,  was  beyond  any  inspiration  likely  to  visit  his 
fertile  brain.  Perhaps  she  would  be  ill  for  a  time;  she 
looked  so  unlike  her  usual  self  as  to  invite  the  hope, 
and  that  at  least  would  keep  her  quiet  for  some  months. 
Ranata,  suspecting  naught  of  these  unsympathetic 
reflections,  was  longing  for  the  night.  When  she  was 
finally  alone  in  her  rooms — those  rooms  that  looked 
like  nothing  outside  the  Hofburg  except  other  musty  old 
palaces  where  the  sun  never  entered — she  sat  down  in 
the  dark  and  attempted  to  prepare  her  mind  for  the 
ghostly  pilgrimage.  Her  sense  of  drama  was  stirred  at 
the  thought  of  performing  this  ancient  rite,  but  she  felt 
less  religious  than  she  had  hoped,  less  ancestral,  less 
akin  to  those  quaking  girls  who  had  been  swept  down 
into  the  cold  vault  of  the  Capuchin  by  the  stern  arm  of 
Maria  Theresia.  One  had  died  of  the  small-pox,  caught 
from  the  emanations  of  a  recent  victim — doubtless  the 
poor  little  body  had  half -disintegrated  with  fright,  and 
let  the  poison  in.  She  wondered  if  she  would  be  fright 
ened,  and  dismissed  the  thought  with  an  impatient 
shrug.  Her  strong  soul  had  little  acquaintance  with  fear. 
Still  she  would  have  welcomed  a  premonition  of  it  at  this 
moment,  if  it  had  brought  on  its  long  shadows  the  first 

350 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

mutters  of  ancestral  superstition — the  first  stirring  of 
her  stupefied  Hapsburg  sense.  But  her  thought  flew 
to  Fessenden  Abbott.  She  wrenched  it  from  him,  and 
it  fluttered  about  among  the  pleasures  and  distractions 
of  her  months  in  Hungary.  She  found  herself  longing 
for  the  bright  rooms  in  the  palace  of  Buda,  the  bustling 
business-like  streets  of  Pest.  She  recalled  her  first  and 
only  visit  to  a  shop,  and  wished  she  might  repeat  the 
experience  on  the  morrow;  she  had  had  many  vivid 
accounts  of  the  shops  of  Vienna  from  Alexandra,  who, 
untrammelled  by  state,  or  even  by  the  haughty  usages  of 
the  aristocracy,  visited  the  shops  as  often  as  she  pleased. 

"I  feel  hopelessly  modern,  frivolous,"  she  thought,  as 
she  rose  and  walked  to  the  window.  "But  it  is  merely 
the  perversity  of  the  brain.  Like  a  spoiled  child,  it 
must  do  precisely  what  is  not  expected  of  it.  I  thought 
I  had  disciplined  it  better." 

She  held  aside  a  corner  of  the  lace  curtain,  and  peered 
down  into  the  court-yard,  and  at  the  battered  walls  op 
posite.  There  would  have  been  no  danger  of  detection 
had  her  room  been  light,  for  the  rain  was  falling  heavily. 
The  court-yard  was  deserted ;  and  the  scene  was  intoler 
ably  dreary.  A  prison-yard  could  be  no  worse. 

Suddenly  she  was  seized  with  a  wild  unreasoning  ter 
ror,  an  impulse  to  fly  from  the  Hofburg  to  Budapest  and 
her  many  friends.  A  premonition  seemed  to  rise  out  of 
the  dark  and  press  close  upon  her.  Her  brain  tossed 
up  the  reserve,  the  embarrassment  of  her  father's  man 
ner,  the  watchful  speculative  regard  of  Konigsegg's  cold 
eyes,  the  sensation  of  insignificance  that  had  vaguely  as 
sailed  her  as  she  arrived  in  Vienna — of  stepping  down 
from  a  pedestal  to  withdraw  into  a  niche.  Why  had  she 
left  Hungary?  There  she  would  have  been  safe,  for 
nothing  short  of  violence  could  have  removed  her,  and 
that  they  would  not  dare  to  use.  She  touched  the  electric 

351 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

button  as  soon  as  she  could  find  it ;  and  when  the  room 
was  softly  brilliant,  she  wondered  at  her  nerves.  Deter 
mined  to  reduce  them  to  subjection  before  their  mid 
night  ordeal,  she  sat  down  with  a  novel  Alexandra  had 
given  her  at  parting.  This  was  not  the  preparation  for 
nocturnal  prayer  she  might  have  wished,  but  it  could  be 
no  more  mischievous  than  her  own  unruly  thoughts. 
It  proved  to  be  absorbing — a  brisk  well-written  tale  of 
mediaeval  love  and  adventure,  war  and  romantic  inci 
dent,  without  psychology,  or  a  reminder  of  modern  life 
and  character.  It  was  not  the  literature  of  her  habit, 
but  for  that  reason  perhaps  held  her  the  more  closely, 
the  tenor  of  her  mind  being  altered,  and  life  as  she  knew 
it  best  forgotten.  When,  at  a  quarter  to  twelve,  one  of 
her  maids  entered  with  a  long  fur  garment,  and  the  an 
nouncement  that  the  Obersthofmeisterin  awaited  the 
pleasure  of  her  Imperial  Highness,  she  arose  with  reluc 
tance,  and,  as  the  woman  adjusted  the  cloak  and  hood, 
glanced  at  the  finish.  "If  I  had  not  been  sure  of  that 
final  rapture,"  she  informed  herself  apologetically,  "I 
believe  I  could  not  have  rid  my  mind  of  it  in  the  church." 


XXX 

Sarolta  had  sunk  on  a  hot -water  cushion  in  one  of  the 
chapels  of  the  Capuchin  Church,  after  an  involuntary 
appeal  to  her  archduchess  to  pray  no  longer  than  she 
could  help.  The  friar,  a  dark  blur  in  his  brown  robes, 
unlocked  the  door  that  opens  on  the  winding  stair  sacred 
to  the  House  of  Hapsburg.  As  Ranata  carried  a  lighted 
taper  in  her  own  hand,  she  motioned  to  him  to  walk 
behind  her,  and  picked  her  way  on  the  uneven  stones 
worn  by  four  centuries  of  men  and  women  who  had  gone 
down  with  the  dead,  or  to  pray  among  the  ruins  of  those 

352 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

who  had  ruled  and  loved  and  oppressed,  or  battled  in 
secret  and  impotence  with  the  wretched  comedy  of  their 
existence.  Twice  before — since  her  early  girlhood,  when 
her  tutor  in  history  had  included  an  occasional  visit  to 
the  Hapsburg  dust  in  his  course— had  Ranata  descend 
ed  this  stair:  behind  the  coffin  of  Rudolf,  and  the  coffin 
of  her  mother.  The  first  time  she  had  been  blind  and 
dumb  with  grief;  the  second,  horror-stricken  as  she  still 
was,  she  had  meditated  sadly  upon  the  conquest  of  life 
over  the  charming  and  singular  woman  she  had  known 
so  little.  To-night,  as  she  reached  the  foot  of  the  stair, 
and  held  the  taper  aloft,  she  was  conscious  of  little  but 
the  cold  and  the  dank  smell  of  death,  which  in  spite  of 
glass  and  lead  and  bronze,  and  robbed  of  its  final  of- 
fensiveness,  pervades  the  crypt.  It  is  an  odor  hardly 
definable;  it  might  be  the  very  breath  of  Death  himself 
rising  thickly  through  earth  and  mould. 

Ranata  shuddered  and  drew  her  cloak  about  her,  but 
walked  resolutely  down  between  the  long  rows  of  sar 
cophagi,  elaborate  and  ostentatiously  simple,  crowding 
close  behind  the  bars.  She  was  thankful  that  her  father 
had  insisted  upon  the  escort  of  the  friar;  but  when  she 
came  to  the  great  gates  behind  which  Maria  Theresia 
still  reigns  in  the  pomp  of  death  over  those  that  have 
followed  her,  and  her  silent  attendant  had  turned  the 
key,  she  motioned  to  him  to  remain  without. 

She  stood  for  a  moment  looking  with  a  curious  im 
personality,  of  which  she  could  not  divest  herself,  at  the 
magnificent  leaden  sarcophagus,  on  its  pedestal,  of  one 
of  the  few  great  rulers  of  Austria.  The  carving  and 
chasing,  the  bas-reliefs  and  fixtures,  were  so  elaborate 
and  beautiful  that  she  caught  herself  wondering  how 
many  years  th'e  august  remains  had  awaited  their  final 
state,  or  if  the  far-sighted  Empress  had  set  the  crafts 
men  to  work  long  before  her  death.  She  was  a  practi- 
23  353 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

cal  soul,  and  it  was  likely.  At  her  feet,  in  the  plainest 
of  leaden  coffins,  lay  the  husband  she  had  loved  and 
snubbed.  About  her,  in  receptacles  of  varying  art  and 
costliness,  were  nine  of  her  sixteen  children. 

Ranata  turned  her  back  upon  the  last  vanity  of  the 
ancestor  who  had  been  a  religion  of  her  youth,  and  pass 
ing  the  equally  lofty  but  far  less  imposing  sarcophagus 
of  Franz  II.,  with  the  perfunctory  receptacles  of  his  four 
wives  scattered  near,  she  paused  for  a  moment  beside 
the  long  coffins  of  Napoleon's  second  wife,  and  of  him 
who  had  been  called  King  of  Rome  and  Duke  of  Reich- 
stadt — he  whom  the  French  remembered  as  the  second 
Napoleon  when  his  cousin  seized  the  throne.  She  stared 
down  at  the  lead  above  the  dust  of  the  little  cousin  for 
whom  she  had  much  sympathy  and  compassion,  know 
ing  him  to  have  been  the  victim  of  court  intrigues,  his 
soul  and  body  systematically  ruined.  She  wondered 
how  much  rebellion  had  beaten  beneath  that  apparent 
docility,  how  much  cunning,  perhaps;  biding  his  time 
in  his  grandfather's  old  age,  hating  and  fearing  Metter- 
nich,  yet  neither  wise  enough  nor  strong  enough  to  avoid 
the  traps  that  never  cut  his  feet,  and  closed  about  him 
as  softly  and  warmly  as  sirens  and  drugs.  She  won 
dered  if  the  French  poet  had  divined  the  secretive  nat 
ure  correctly,  or  if  a  true  Hapsburg  brain  had  dissolved 
in  the  silences  of  the  crypt;  then,  if  the  ruined  soul  had 
been  graciously  relit  in  consideration  of  its  youth  and 
ignorance;  if,  in  some  juster  world,  the  fine  brain  he  may 
have  inherited  might  not  now  in  its  maturity  be  fulfil 
ling  the  purpose  for  which  it  had  sprung  from  a  force  that 
would  still  seem  to  haunt  the  earth. 

These  were  not  the  thoughts,  the  sulking  superstitions, 
she  had  come  to  evoke,  and  she  passed  on.  The  alcove 
containing  what  was  left  of  her  mother  and  brother, 
with  the  angel  between  them  presented  by  the  ladies  of 

354 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

Hungary,  was  before  her,  but  she  wished  before  kneel 
ing  and  praying  there  to  saturate  herself  with  this  sub 
tle  atmosphere  of  ancient  death,  of  indestructible  repose, 
of  serene  and  final  disassociation  from  the  world  above. 
This  portion  of  the  crypt  is  only  two  -  thirds  below 
ground.  A  high  small  window  admits  a  patch  of  light 
by  day;  but  the  glass  is  heavy,  and  no  sound  penetrates. 
The  Hapsburgs  sleep  as  quietly  as  the  Pharaohs. 

Ranata  wandered  past  the  brilliant  silver-like  coffin  of 
Ferdinand  Maximilian  Joseph,  but  she  did  not  linger; 
she  had  little  sympathy  with  the  unknown  uncle  whose 
wavering  brain  had  cost  him  throne  and  life.  "  If  I  had 
had  Mexico,"  she  thought  arrogantly,  "I  should  have 
kept  it.  Picturesque  an  object  as  he  was  with  his  Amer 
ican  empire,  and  his  brave  death,  he  will  never  be  a  fa 
vorite  in  history  or  romance,  for  human  nature  despises 
the  waverer.  What  the  Americans  call  bluff  is  not  only 
the  wiser  policy,  but  makes  a  stronger  appeal  to  the  im 
agination."  She  walked  down  between  the  long  rows 
of  the  lesser  dead,  pausing  a  moment  at  the  simple  cof 
fin  of  that  cousin  who  had  set  her  thin  frock  on  fire  with 
a  lighted  cigarette,  hastily  concealed  as  her  father  ap 
proached.  She  smiled  with  tender  pity,  grateful  that 
her  own  parent,  obdurate  in  many  things,  was  advanced 
in  a  few  simple  particulars. 

Finally  she  returned  to  the  elevated  remains  of  the  old 
Emperor  Franz,  and  holding  her  taper  high,  looked  slow 
ly  about  her.  It  was  a  sufficiently  grewsome  sight,  those 
piles  and  rows  of  gray  sarcophagi,  most  of  them  but  stark 
shadows  under  the  meagre  light  she  carried,  and  the  ray 
of  a  lamp  that  filtered  through  the  little  window.  She 
gave  an  involuntary  shudder  of  feminine  horror,  and 
once  more  experienced  a  throb  of  gratitude  for  the  prox 
imity  of  the  friar,  standing  beyond  the  door.  He  had 
extinguished  his  taper  and  looked  like  a  statue  at  pray- 

355 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

er.  Her  eye  rested  again  on  the  coffin  of  the  Due  de 
Reichstadt.  "Poor  Franz!"  she  thought.  "What  bar 
barians  they  were  only  two-thirds  of  a  century  ago!  I 
wonder  how  much  better  we  are  now — they!  I  feel, 
rather,  as  if  my  spirit  had  been  purged  down  here,  than 
packed  with  its  old  ghosts." 

She  let  her  taper  trail  on  the  stones.  Her  pilgrimage 
was  a  failure.  The  night  and  its  horrid  suggestions  had 
accomplished  no  degeneration  for  her ;  she  might  as  well 
have  come  by  day,  or  spared  at  any  time  her  limbs  the 
cold,  her  nostrils  this  infliction.  And  there  she  faced  and 
accepted  the  truth.  What  she  had  been  was  gone,  what 
she  was  so  must  she  remain.  Her  brain  in  its  absolute 
modernity  must  help  her  to  endure  and  to  regulate  her 
life;  from  her  ancestors  she  would  receive  no  further 
help,  neither  now  nor  ever.  From  all  miasmatic  obses 
sions  rising  out  of  the  crypt  in  her  soul  she  was  free 
henceforth ;  the  crypt  itself  had  vanished  into  that  eter 
nity  so  far  from  the  corruption  about  her.  She  lifted 
her  head  suddenly  with  a  sensation  of  liberty,  of  inde 
pendence,  which  even  Hungary  and  her  intimate  spirit 
ual  absorption  of  her  American  lover  had  not  given  her. 
Then  she  went  forward  and  knelt  at  the  foot  of  Rudolf's 
coffin.  She  had  rejected  dogmas  and  theologies,  but 
she  still  could  pray;  for  she  had  perfect  faith  in  an  over 
ruling  power,  who,  if  great  enough  to  manage  the  uni 
verse,  must  be  great  enough  to  answer  prayer  without 
upsetting  the  balance  of  His  machinery.  And  prostrate 
at  the  foot  of  the  ugly  bronze  coffin  under  half  its  height 
of  brittle  wreaths,  that  held  the  clay  of  the  warmest 
nature  she  had  ever  known,  of  the  only  being  she  had 
deeply  loved  until  now,  of  the  Hapsburg  whose  light 
might  have  raised  him  so  high  in  history  and  had  gone 
out  in  folly  and  dishonor,  she  had  her  moment  of  pro 
found  tribute  to  the  dead,  of  utter  abnegation  of  self. 

356 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

When  she  rose  from  her  knees  she  entered  the  recess, 
and  pushing  aside  the  old  wreaths  with  their  emblazoned 
streamers,  the  gifts  of  kings,  and  princes,  of  family,  and 
illustrious  subjects,  she  pressed  her  wet  face  for  a  mo 
ment  to  the  head  of  the  coffin,  then  walked  rapidly  from 
the  inner  crypt,  down  the  lane  between  the  older  dead, 
and  up  the  stair. 

Sarolta  was  not  in  her  chapel,  and,  dismissing  the  friar, 
Ranata  left  the  church.  The  Obersthofmeisterin  was 
in  a  corner  of  the  carriage  sound  asleep.  The  coachman 
slept  profoundly  on  the  box.  The  footman  had  disap 
peared.  Ranata  stood  alone  in  the  streets  of  Vienna. 
The  clock  struck  one.  She,  a  daughter  of  the  Hapsburgs, 
was  as  free  as  any  waif  in  the  city.  The  sensation  of  lib 
erty  which  had  taken  possession  of  her  down  in  the 
crypt  surged  wildly  to  her  head.  She  walked  swiftly 
to  the  corner  and  stood  there,  pushing  back  her  hood 
and  staring  about  her.  The  rain  had  ceased,  but  the 
night  was  black.  What  was  there  to  prevent  her  from 
finding  a  cab,  driving  to  the  station,  and  taking  the  first 
train  for  Berlin?  If  Fessenden  were  not  already  there 
a  telegram  would  summon  him  in  haste.  From  Berlin 
it  was  but  a  few  hours  to  Bremen.  She  took  another 
step  forward,  then  almost  laughed  aloud.  Was  this 
the  first  result  of  her  rendezvous  with  the  dead?  But 
if  that  had  been  futile,  her  brain  and  her  sense  of  duty 
were  still  in  control.  She  had  renounced  love  once  for 
all.  Moreover,  her  flight  would  mean  the  exile  and  dis 
grace  in  her  old  age  of  Saiolta.  To-morrow  she  would 
return  to  Hungary  and  take  up  her  work  there.  Now 
that  she  knew  exactly  on  what  forces  she  must  rely,  she 
could  hope  to  walk  her  self-appointed  path  without  fal 
tering;  and  in  gratitude  for  her  strength,  and  for  a  mem 
ory  which  the  inflexible  laws  of  her  station  could  never 
take  from  her. 

357 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

Nevertheless,  she  lingered  for  a  time,  walking  aimless 
ly  to  and  fro,  for  it  was  the  most  complete  liberty  she 
had  ever  known,  and  she  enjoyed  it  much  as  a  child  en 
joys  itself  the  first  time  it  runs  away.  It  also  appealed 
to  her  sense  of  humor,  and  she  would  have  been  amused 
still  more  could  she  have  come  face  to  face  with  her 
father. 

And  so  she  rejected  her  second  opportunity  for  flight 
and  actual  liberty,  awakened  the  terrified  coachman,  and 
returned  to  the  Hofburg. 


XXXI 

She  slept  well,  and  late;  then  being  already  long  past 
her  early  hour  of  rising,  lay  for  a  time,  half  in  pleasure 
of  that  narrow  world  wherein  she  still  could  confuse 
dreams  and  life,  half  in  dread  of  the  realities  into  which 
she  must  step  with  her  clothes.  Should  she  go  to  Buda 
pest  that  day?  It  occurred  to  her  too  late  that  it  is 
more  difficult  to  return  to  the  associations  identified 
with  the  intense  or  tragic  moments  of  life  even  than  to 
remain  among  them.  Should  she  stay  in  Vienna  for  a 
few  days?  The  Hofburg  had  never  seemed  so  dreary; 
her  own  rooms  were  musty  and  chill.  In  Bud  a,  at 
least,  she  would  be  companioned,  and  she  should  find 
novel  work  to  do  immediately  upon  her  return.  She 
remembered  Fessenden's  early  suggestion  to  conciliate 
the  Independents  by  inviting  their  wives  to  the  palace. 
Many  of  these  men  were  her  slaves,  but  of  them  several 
would  not  come  to  Buda,  and  others  held  wholly  aloof. 
She  should  persuade  to  her  cause,  as  soon  as  she  returned, 
the  patriotism  of  the  influential  women  of  the  aristocra 
cy.  And  there  were  charities  to  organize,  subtler  meth 
ods  of  conquest  to  be  conceived,  now  that  society  had 

358 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

been  won  by  gayeties  and  pleasure.    As  soon  as  the  win 
ter  broke  she  would  make  her  progress  through  the 
country ;  she  had  made  the  impression  she  desired  on  the 
crowds  that  had  met  her  at  the  stations  in  Transylvania. 
It  was  all  easy  enough,  this  brilliant  preliminary,  but 
what  of  the  future?     Would  she  have  her  great  public 
career,  and  would  it  console  her  for  the  renunciation  of 
what  she  wanted  at  that  moment  more  than  the  career 
of  a  Maria  Theresia  or  even  the  triumph  of  cold  duty? 
As  she  awoke  fully  the  tenderness  and  passion,  roused 
and  stimulated,  yet  so  little  satisfied  in  these  past  weeks, 
which  for  two  days  and  nights  had  been  quiescent  under 
the  sullen  despair  of  her  brain,  now,  after  long  hours  of 
refreshing  sleep,  rushed  in  tumult  through  all  her  chan 
nels  of  emotion;  and  all  her  soul  and  body  shook  with 
longing  and  regret.     Why  should  she  not  see  him  once 
more?     And  would  it  always  be  once  more,  and  once 
more?     Would  her  life  be  bearable  if  his  expulsion  from 
it  were  final?     She  had  not  seen  so  far  into  the  future 
while  with  him,  but  now  it  looked  as  empty  and  cold  as 
space.     Could  this  be  the  end?     She  almost  cried  the 
words  aloud  as  she  sprang  from  her  bed  in  a  frantic  de 
sire  to  take  some  step — at  once — before  it  was  too  late. 
He  could  not  have  sailed,  for  he  had  told  her  he  should 
spend  some  days  in  Berlin,  and  his  yacht  was  at  Trieste. 
She  should  see  him  again  if  the  world  stood  still.     In  all 
the  emotions  that  had  rent  her,  even  after  the  terrible 
deaths  of  her  brother  and  mother,  she  had  never  so  faced 
the  awful  vista  of  finality ;  and  she  discovered  that  it  was 
the  one  for  which  she  had  no  power  in  her  to  endure. 
Of  course  he  must  leave  her  at  last,  but  not  yet!      It  is 
all  very  well  for  the  old  and  the  wise  to  argue  with  the 
accents  of  fatigue  that  love  is  not  the  only  thing  in  life ; 
so  it  is  not,  for  those  that  argue. 

She  rang.     Her  women  came  in  and  dressed  her  in  a 
359 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

travelling  costume.  She  sent  a  note  to  the  Princess 
Sarolta,  asking  her  to  be  ready  an  hour  hence,  and  an 
other  to  her  father  expressing  a  wish  to  bid  him  Auf- 
wiedersehen.  The  Emperor  replied  that  he  would  call 
upon  her  as  soon  as  she  had  finished  her  coffee,  and  that 
it  was  with  regret  he  was  obliged  to  inform  her  that  her 
Obersthofmeisterin  had  caught  a  severe  cold  the  night 
before  and  was  unable  to  leave  her  bed.  He  had  sent  a 
messenger  to  Maria  Leopoldina,  who  was  at  Baden,  ask 
ing  her  to  resume  for  the  moment  her  old  duties;  and 
doubtless  she  would  arrive  in  the  course  of  the  day. 

It  was  a  long  message,  and  the  Emperor  had  taken 
the  trouble  to  write  it,  when  a  simple  announcement  by 
a  chamberlain  that  he  would  call  upon  her  immediately 
would  have  sufficed.  Ranata  left  her  breakfast-room 
abruptly,  and  stood  alone  in  her  dressing-room  removing 
her  hat  with  shaking  fingers.  For  what  was  he  prepar 
ing  her?  What  pathway  smoothing  for  himself?  Had 
Piroska  tattled?  Was  she  to  receive  the  paternal  fiat 
that  she  must  never  see  Fessenden  Abbott  again  ?  Her 
father  might  require  her  submission  before  permitting 
her  to  return  to  Hungary.  Had  the  world  come  to  an 
end?  She  felt  as  if  the  floor  were  swaying  and  sinking. 

She  heard  the  Emperor's  voice  in  the  salon,  and  con 
trolled  herself  and  went  in  to  meet  him.  Her  eyes  met 
his  squarely  in  the  manner  he  detested.  He  kissed  her, 
however,  and  congratulated  her  upon  her  improved  ap 
pearance.  She  had  rarely  looked  better  than  in  this 
frock  of  green  cloth  and  steel  and  sable,  so  simple  and 
closely  fitting  that  on  her  slim  yet  heroic  figure  it  gave 
her  a  somewhat  warlike  appearance.  The  Emperor 
himself  was  looking  remarkably  well,  in  his  parade  uni 
form  with  its  sky-blue  coat  and  black  and  scarlet  trou 
sers.  He  had  been  in  the  saddle  for  two  hours  inspect 
ing  his  troops,  and  the  fresh  color  was  in  his  cheeks,  his 

360 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

well-exercised  body  was  almost  as  free  and  elastic  as  his 
daughter's.  He  sat  erect  and  alert  like  the  good  soldier 
he  was;  but  with  the  wariness  of  the  diplomat  he  had 
taken  the  precaution  to  seek  this  interview  on  the  en 
emy's  territory  that  he  might  retreat  if  a  sudden  lapse 
in  the  negotiations  seemed  wise ;  he  knew  that  he  would 
be  physically  unable  to  expel  Ranata  from  his  apart 
ments  until  she  chose  to  go. 

He  began  with  diplomacy,  also,  asking  her  of  the  pil 
grimage  of  the  night  before;  complimented  her  on  her 
courage  and  piety — and  no  man  could  turn  a  compliment 
more  neatly.  But  as  Ranata  answered  him  in  mono 
syllables  and  preserved  an  upright  attitude  of  expect 
ancy,  he  felt  himself  driven  towards  the  point. 

"My  dear,"  he  began  delicately,  "it  has  come  to  my 
knowledge  that  you  are  more  interested  than  is  prudent 
in  the  brother  of  your  friend."  He  paused,  but  as  Ra 
nata  made  no  reply,  nor  even  changed  color,  he  con 
tinued.  "Of  course,  it  is  to  be  expected  that  a  girl  as 
beautiful  as  you  are  will  captivate  many  men,  aloof  as 
you  must  hold  yourself;  but  I  am  surprised  that  you 
have  permitted  a  devotion  so  conspicuous  as  to  create 
gossip.  A  princess  can  never  be  sure  that  gossip  will 
stop  short  of  scandal ;  for  where  a  woman  may  not  select 
her  own  husband,  the  idle  and  the  envious  are  always  on 
the  lookout  for  an  irregular  connection  to  gloat  over. 
I  am  very  sorry  to  seem  to  reprove  you — " 

"  I  have  expected  it,  of  course.  I  knew  that  the  little 
Zapolya  was  a  spy;  and  she  also  wished  to  marry  Mr. 
Abbott." 

"I  hope  you  will  give  me  the  credit  of  having  lived 
long  enough  to  sift  evidence  before  I  decide,  of  making 
due  allowance  for  circumstances,  and  of  accepting  no 
evidence  unsupported.  You  and  Mr.  Abbott  have  been 
much  in  public  together;  your  mutual  interest  has  been 

361 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

commented  upon  far  and  wide.  I  have  been  warned  from 
more  sources  than  one.  If  I  had  known  that  Count 
Zrinyi  had  invited  Mr.  Abbott — and  scarcely  any  one 
else! — to  accompany  you  to  Transylvania,  I  should  have 
forbidden  the  visit.  It  had  long  been  a  part  of  your 
programme,  and  I  inferred,  as  a  matter  of  course,  that 
you  would  be  accompanied  by  a  full  court  and  a  large 
number  of  guests.  There  is  no  doubt  in  my  mind  that 
Zrinyi  made  this  opportunity  for  you,  and  he  must  take 
the  consequences — 

"  I  doubt  if  he  gave  my  private  affairs  a  thought.  He 
may  have  cared  to  entertain  me  as  a  princess,  but  his 
first  object  was  to  see  as  much  of  Alexandra  alone  as 
possible — in  romantic  surroundings." 

"That  may  be.  Now  I  must  ask  you  if  you  are  pre 
pared  to  deny  that  you  took  a  walk  at  midnight  up  there 
alone  with  Mr.  Abbott;  that  you  managed  upon  num 
berless  occasions  to  see  him  alone — at  Buda,  as  well  as 
at  Zrinyi-var?  That  he  wore  Prince  Nadasdy's  costume 
on  the  night  of  the  fancy-dress  ball,  and  that  you  both 
retired  simultaneously — " 

"I  deny  nothing,"  said  Ranata.  "I  am  in  no  humor 
to  make  a  sentimental  confession.  Your  Majesty  may 
believe  or  not  that  I  love  him.  I  have,  however,  sent 
him  away.  That  should  satisfy  you.  You  will  accept 
my  word,  I  suppose." 

"Your  word  is  the  last  I  should  doubt.  But  I  hap 
pen  to  know  that  human  nature  is  stronger  than  prom 
ises.  You  will  not  send  for  him,  but  he  will  return.  He 
is  a  young  man  with  an  exceptional  record  for  attaining 
his  ends.  If  he  manages  to  see  you  alone  again  after  a 
separation"— he  spread  out  his  little  hands  with  the 
grace  of  his  Spanish  ancestors—"  I  should  not  answer  for 
the  consequences.  If  you  were  your  mother  I  should 
have  no  apprehension,  for  she  was  devoid  of  passion; 

362 


RULERS   OF    KINGS 

but  you  are  a  Hapsburg,  and  God  knows  I  have  had 
knowledge  enough  of  the  weakness  of  my  race  to  act 
promptly  when  I  am  graciously  vouchsafed  a  timely 
warning." 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  about  it?"  asked  Ranata 
— unconsciously,  in  her  quick  suspicion,  using  the  Ameri 
can  vernacular,  although  her  language  was  German ;  her 
father  had  never  found  it  necessary  to  learn  English. 

This  time  the  Emperor  met  her  eye  fully,  although  his 
heart  quaked.  "I  have  determined  that  it  is  time  for 
you  to  marry,"  he  said  in  a  louder  tone  than  he  was 
sensible  of  in  time. 

Ranata  laughed.  She  was  surprised  at  her  rudeness. 
The  disrespectful  ebullition  was  due  partly  to  nervous 
ness;  but  the  Emperor's  brave  announcement  had  also 
struck  at  the  quick  of  her  humor. 

His  Majesty's  ruddy  face  deepened  in  hue,  but  he  had 
too  difficult  a  task  to  accomplish  to  permit  himself  the 
luxury  of  a  personal  sensation.  He  had  steeled  his  heart 
against  pity;  to  give  himself  up  to  anger  was  unworthy, 
and  he  brushed  the  emotion  aside.  He  would  have  been 
glad  to  see  his  daughter  happy,  but  the  stoicism  of  lone 
ly  majesty  had  been  immutably  set  in  his  case  by  the 
many  and  agonizing  personal  experiences  which  he  had 
weathered  into  a  healthy  and  tolerable  old  age.  Princes 
were  born  to  earthly  martyrdom  tempered  by  much  cas 
ual  consolation.  If  their  women  were  forced  to  play 
their  part  without  the  compensations,  that  was  the  de 
cree  of  God,  who  made  kings,  and  they  must  suffer  and 
make  no  complaint.  As  a  rule  they  did,  and  it  was  the 
manifest  duty  of  him  who  was  divinely  permitted  to 
govern  to  see  that  they  found  no  opportunity  to  do 
otherwise.  "You  are  overwrought,  I  fear,"  he  said 
tactfully.  "  Did  you  sleep  well  after  your  pilgrim 
age?" 

363 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

**  Perfectly.     May  I  ask  whom  your  Majesty  has  con 
sidered  as  a  son-in-law?" 

The  Emperor  made  a  slight  motion  that  in  a  person 
of  less  graceful  dignity  might  have  been  mistaken  for  a 
squirm.  He  had  no  doubt  of  the  wisdom  of  his  choice 
—his  own  choice  he  believed  it  to  be — for  his  relative, 
if  stern  and  unbending,  a  disciplinarian  of  the  first  rank, 
was  neither  brutal  nor  cruel,  nor,  if  met  with  a  discreet 
submission,  unamiable.  The  idea  of  handing  over  his 
potential  daughter  to  this  Gibraltar  among  husbands, 
who  had  responded  with  enthusiasm  to  the  invitation 
to  marry  a  beautiful  and  wealthy  princess,  had  taken 
full  possession  of  the  apprehensive  mind  of  the  old  mon 
arch;  but  he  had  not  planned  to  break  the  name  until 
after  the  right  amount  of  preparation.  He  had  antici 
pated  that  Ranata  would  dissolve  into  tears  and  per 
haps  more  tempestuous  emotions,  under  cover  of  which 
he  could  retreat,  to  communicate  in  writing  the  fulness 
of  her  fate.  But  there  was  no  sign  of  a  tear  in  the  large 
angry  eyes  transfixing  him,  and  her  full  fine  mouth,  with 
its  short  upper  lip  and  unsatisfied  corners,  looked  as  if 
a  sob  had  never  shaken  it. 

"Well?"  she  asked. 

There  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  plump  out  the  name. 
Even  were  he  willing  to  gain  time  by  asserting  that  the 
man  had  not  yet  been  chosen,  he  knew  that  she  would 
detect  the  lie  and  place  him  at  an  immediate  disadvan 
tage.  He  answered  stolidly, 

"Aloys  Franz — " 

"What?"  she  stood  up  and  stared  down  upon  him  as 
if  she  were  repeating  his  statement  to  herself  and  en 
deavoring  to  place  it  in  connection  with  her  brain.  In 
a  moment  the  blood  rose  hotly  to  her  hair,  even  her 
eyes  looked  bloodshot.  "Oh!"  she  exclaimed.  "Oh!" 
and  then  she  walked  to  the  window. 

364 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

It  was  an  opportune  moment  for  retreat,  but  there 
was  more  to  be  said;  she  was  calm,  and  the  sooner  the 
whole  task  was  finished  the  better. 

"Perhaps  you  will  understand  why  I  think  it  best 
you  should  not  return  to  Budapest,"  he  said  gently.  "It 
is  well  for  many  reasons  that  this  wedding  take  place 
at  once,  and  it  is  my  duty  to  expose  you  to  no  further 
temptation.  It  can  be  given  out  that  your  trousseau 
detains  you  here,  or  Sarolta's  illness — " 

Ranata  wheeled  about  and  faced  him.  For  the  first 
time  in  her  life  she  was  ugly. 

"And  have  you  really  deluded  yourself,"  she  asked 
with  an  ominous  calm,  "that  you  will  marry  me  to  that 
man? — or  to  any  one  else?" 

The  Emperor  rose  then  and  faced  her.  War  was  de 
clared,  and  he  knew  where  he  stood.  There  was  no  bet 
ter  mettle  in  Europe  than  his. 

"You  will  marry  Aloys  Franz,"  he  said. 

Again  Ranata  laughed,  and  for  the  moment  she 
looked  hideous.  "I  shall  not,"  she  said.  "And  you 
should  know  by  this  time  what  stuff  I  am  made  of." 

"I  have  not  had  a  doubt  of  your  resistance.  I  have 
as  little  of  my  firmness  of  purpose.  You  have  not  been 
sufficiently  disciplined.  A  princess  marries  whom  and 
when  her  father  and  sovereign  dictates.  You  were  my 
youngest,  in  many  ways  exceptional,  and  very  much 
alone.  I  have  been  more  indulgent,  more  lax,  than  I 
should.  But  that  is  over.  From  this  moment  you  will 
recognize  that  I  am  your  emperor  as  well  as  your  father." 

"We  are  no  longer  in  the  Middle  Ages,  nor  yet  in  the 
middle  of  the  last  century.  Your  subjects  are  free  to 
marry  whom  they  please,  or  to  remain  unmarried  if  they 
choose." 

"Constitutions  have  shorn  monarchs  of  too  much 
power  over  their  subjects,  but  in  his  own  family  the 

365 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

power  of  an  emperor  is  as  absolute  as  it  ever  was.  To 
the  law  you  would  have  no  appeal  did  I  choose  to  prac 
tise  upon  you  the  tortures  of  the  Inquisition  here  in  my 
palace,  to  starve  you  in  a  cell,  to  cause  you  to  disappear 
forever  from  human  sight.  Please  understand  once  for 
all  that  you  are  my  property,  given  into  my  care  by  Al 
mighty  God;  and  for  your  own  salvation  and  for  the  hon 
or  of  my  house  I  shall  do  what  I  think  best  with  you." 

"And  if  I  still  refuse?" 

' '  You  will  remain  a  prisoner  in  these  rooms  until  you 
consent.  Your  servants  will  attend  to  every  want,  you 
will  have  the  society  of  Maria  Leopoldina,  and  you  may 
take  your  exercise  in  the  corridor.  You  will  see  no  one 
else.  There  will  be  a  guard  day  and  night  at  each  end 
of  the  corridor.  If  you  make  any  attempt  to  bribe 
these  guards,  or  to  communicate  with  any  one  in  the 
court-yard,  you  will  be  moved  elsewhere  and  deprived 
of  exercise.  But  I  do  not  wish  to  be  forced  into  undue 
severity,  and  you  may  remain  here  so  long  as  you  trans 
gress  no  rules." 

"Good  God!"  she  exclaimed.  "And  this  is  the  twen 
tieth  century!  Have  I  heard  aright?  Am  I  a  prisoner 
under  an  armed  guard?  Am  I  more  helpless  in  the 
eyes  of  the  law  than  the  meanest  of  your  subjects?  May 
any  illiterate  peasant  woman  seek  redress  in  the  courts 
of  justice  while  a  princess  of  the  realm,  whose  supreme 
advantages  have  set  her  apart  from  mankind,  is  but  a 
chattel  among  the  possessions  of  her  father?  I  suppose 
I  have  known  this.  But  I  have  managed  to  surround 
myself  with  a  different  atmosphere.  But  you — you 
are  a  man  of  the  world,  and  all  your  faculties  are  still 
alert — do  you  mean  to  tell  me  that  you  have  not  out 
grown  the  barbarism  of  the  past?" 

"  You  may  call  it  by  what  name  you  will.  I  shall  go 
now,  and  you  will  meditate — 

366 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

But  Ranata  had  flashed  between  him  and  the  door, 
and  he  knew  that  he  could  not  pass  her.  He  was  deeply 
annoyed  that  he  had  not  retreated  in  time,  but  he  stood 
immobile,  looking  coldly  into  her  distorted  face. 

"No,"  she  said  hoarsely,  but  still  retaining  an  appre 
ciable  measure  of  self-control;  "you  will  not  leave  this 
room  until  you  have  heard  the  truth  for  once.  If  you 
are  no  longer  my  father  but  my  tyrant,  then  from  this 
moment  I  am  your  most  rebellious  subject  and  nothing 
more.  And  I  would  that  I  could  open  my  veins  and 
drain  out  every  drop  of  royal  blood.  Has  it  ever  oc 
curred  to  you,  sir,  that  the  great  enlightened  masses 
not  only  in  America  but  here  in  central  Europe  regard 
us  not  with  the  hatred  of  half  a  century  ago,  but  with 
impatience  and  contempt;  that  they  look  upon  us  as 
anomalies,  anachronisms,  ornamental  nuisances,  and  do 
not  rise  to  let  out  our  blood  on  the  guillotine  only  because 
they  are  well  aware  of  the  peaceful  disintegration,  the 
irresistible  rising  of  the  tide  of  independence  and  liberty  ? 
If  your  people  love  you — here,  not  in  Hungary! — it  is 
for  your  personal  qualities,  not  because  you  represent 
an  idea  which,  in  their  estimate  of  life  and  civilization, 
they  have  relegated  to  the  past,  with  crinolines  and 
Bath  chairs.  Do  you  suppose  that  what  loyalty  you 
enjoy  will  be  transferred  to  the  Heir?  You  know  it  will 
not.  That  alone  is  proof  enough  that  the  people  are  care 
lessly — perhaps  unconsciously — determined  to  have  what 
they  want — monarchy,  only  if  it  happen  to  suit  them  at 
the  moment.  There  is  only  one  monarchy  on  the  face 
of  the  earth  enlightened  enough  to  grasp  this  fact  before 
it  is  too  late,  and  that  is  England.  There  alone  is  mon 
archy  not  ridiculous — and  not  threatened.  What  do 
you  suppose  is  the  meaning  of  the  immense  and  un 
daunted  increase  of  socialism  in  Germany  ?  What  is  the 
meaning  of  the  incalculable  and  persistent  forces  of  dis- 

367 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

integration  in  this  empire?  Look  at  Italy.  At  Spain. 
At  Turkey.  At  Russia — that  dares  not  sleep.  Only 
the  insignificant  little  monarchies  are  comparatively  safe 
from  themselves,  being  occupied  with  apprehension  of 
the  greater.  Even  in  the  United  States  the  unsatis 
fied  tide  of  liberty  is  rising.  McKinley  was  not  shot  by 
a  lunatic,  a  fanatic,  nor  by  a  member  of  any  deadly  or 
ganization  ;  the  assassin  was  merely  one  of  the  millions 
of  dissatisfied  poor  in  the  richest  country  on  earth, 
where  he  saw  liberty  and  justice  becoming  as  paralytic 
as  in  Europe.  Did  the  portent  of  that  assassination 
never  occur  to  you?  And  with  this  spirit  abroad  in  the 
world  we  dare  over  here  to  play  at  divine  rights,  at 
being  hereditary  rulers  of  millions  more  enlightened 
than  ourselves — we — pygmies — marionettes — who  may 
be  born  as  foolish  as  the  last  Emperor  of  Austria  and 
King  of  Hungary,  who  thought  that  all  eagles  had  two 
heads,  and  yet  dare  to  mount  a  throne  and  cry  '  I  am 
King!'  No  one  has  ever  more  devoutly  tried  to  do 
what  he  conceived  to  be  his  inherited  duty  than  I  have 
done.  I  have,  for  many  years,  been  deliberately  blind. 
During  these  last  months  in  Hungary  I  have  held  the 
scales  to  my  eyes  lest  they  fall  off.  Last  night  down 
there  in  the  crypt,  where,  if  you  must  know,  I  went  in 
the  hope  of  finding  my  old  idols,  I  lost  most  of  those  scales. 
To-day  I  have  lost  the  last  of  them.  If  I  had  it  in  my 
power  to  do,  I  would  give  liberty  and  the  broadest 
s(5rt  of  constitutional  government  to  every  man  that 
breathes.  I  am  mortified  that  it  took  the  deprivation 
of  my  own  liberty  to  force  my  brain  to  acknowledge  the 
truth.  I  would  rather  I  had  been  less  human  and  wel 
comed  the  truth  as  the  result  of  much  deep  and  intelli 
gent  meditation.  But  to  expect  the  godlike  of  one  of 
us  of  royal  blood  is  beyond  reason,  and  I  am  thankful 
that  I  am  not  too  dense  to  receive  illumination  from  any 

368 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

source.  But  I  loathe  my  blood.  I  hope  to  God  I  may 
live  to  see  every  monarch  now  alive  a  useful  member  of 
a  republic  and  no  man  degraded  by  being  forced  to 
submit  to  what  he  had  no  hand  in  making.  I  am  sorry 
to  have  detained  and  agitated  you;  and  for  any  unin 
tentional  rudeness  I  hope  your  Majesty  will  forgive  me. 
For  you,  until  to-day,  I  have  had  a  great  respect.  For 
what  you  stand  for  it  is  impossible  that  I  should  ever 
again  have  anything  but  the  profoundest  contempt.  I 
will  not  detain  you  any  longer  except  to  repeat  that 
you  will  save  yourself  a  great  deal  of  trouble  if  you  give 
up  at  once  this  idea  of  marrying  me  to  any  man  but  the 
one  I  shall  select  for  myself." 

She  no  longer  looked  hideous.  The  relief  of  her  emo 
tions,  the  tide  of  passion  which  had  surged  over  its  dam 
laden  with  the  profoundest  truth  of  the  century,  had 
carried  her  to  the  heights  of  her  nature,  and  she  had 
never  been  more  beautiful — nor  more  formidable.  Not 
so  the  Emperor.  He  was  purple,  and  his  heavy  under- 
lip  trembled.  But  he  preserved  his  dignity,  his  soldier 
ly  bearing.  As  she  moved  aside  to*  let  him  pass,  he 
bowed  courteously  to  her  without  speaking  and  left 
the  room. 

XXXII 

The  Princess  Sarolta,  Prince  Illehazy,  Countess  Vilma 
Festetics,  Alexandra  Abbott,  and  Count  Zrinyi  sat  in 
agitated  conclave  in  the  palace  of  Buda.  The  Countess 
Piroska  Z^polya  was  officially  in  bed  with  an  attack  of 
influenza. 

The  five  friends  sat  close  together  in  the  blue  drawing- 
room.  Sarolta  had  related  the  story  of  the  appalling  in 
terview  between  the  Emperor  and  Ranata  as  reported 
to  herself  by  a  faithful  maid  of  the  Archduchess;  who 
24  369 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

had  almost  fainted  in  a  window-curtain.  The  woman 
had  escaped  to  invoke  the  aid  of  the  powerful  Obersthof- 
meisterin  before  orders  had  been  issued  for  the  isolation 
of  the  Archduchess's  servants. 

"There  you  are!"  exclaimed  Sarolta,  who  frequently 
expressed  herself  in  English  for  the  sake  of  its  facile 
idiom.  "God  help  us,  what  a  lashing  she  must  have 
given  him!  It  was  not  the  first,  poor  dear  man,  but  I 
doubt  if  he  ever  had  it  quite  so  straight;  for  Ranata's 
brain  would  always  preserve  her  from  the  usual  femi 
nine  tangents.  But — but — our  poor  princess!  she  is  a 
prisoner!  Do  you  realize  it?  He  will  keep  his  word, 
the  more  rigorously  as  he  now  no  doubt  thinks  she  is 
mad.  And  Aloys  Franz!  If  I  didn't  love  Ranata,  noth 
ing  would  amuse  me  more  than  to  look  on  at  his  at 
tempts  to  reduce  her  to  submission.  But  the  situation 
is  not  humorous;  it  is  tragic!  What  in  Heaven's  name 
are  we  to  do  to  help  her?  We  shall  not  be  able  even  to 
get  a  word  of  consolation  to  her;  not  one  of  us  will  be 
allowed  to  visit  her ;  she  will  receive  no  letters ;  she  will 
be  shut  up  for  months,  perhaps,  with  Maria  Leopoldina, 
for  whom  I  feel  an  even  more  acute  sympathy  than 
for  herself.  And  she,  with  that  active  brain,  that  ner 
vous  temperament — no  exercise,  no  society,  no  change — 
Good  God!  she  may  lose  her  reason." 

"That  need  not  concern  us,"  said  Alexandra.  "Nor 
Aloys  Franz.  They'll  never  marry  her,  with  or  without 
antediluvian  methods.  But  the  rest  is  bad  enough. 
Surely  the  Emperor  will  let  her  exercise  in  the  riding- 
school.  She  would  still  be  in  the  Hofburg  and  suf 
ficiently  guarded." 

"I  am  sure  the  Emperor  will  not  hear  of  it.  The 
official  announcement  has  been  made  that  she  is  suffer 
ing  from  a  light  attack  of  influenza  —  light,  you  will 
understand,  that  neither  suspicion  nor  too  much  sym 

370 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

pathy  may  be  awakened.  If  she  went  as  far  as  the 
riding  -  school  there  would  be  too  many  people  in  the 
secret.  She  is  confined  to  five  rooms  and  a  corridor, 
and  there  I  am  afraid  she  will  stay.  Refractory  prin 
cesses  have  been  shut  up  since  the  beginning  of  kings, 
and  will  be  until  all  the  kings  have  gone  to  the  guillo 
tine.  Poor  dear!" 

"I  shall  telegraph  to  my  brother  at  once.  We  have  a 
code.  He  will  get  her  out.  Be  sure  of  that.  If  he 
doesn't  he  may  look  upon  his  life  as  a  failure.  He  will, 
however." 

"Would  it  not  be  better,"  suggested  Prince  Illehazy, 
"if  Mr.  Abbott  did  not  take  any  step  in  the  matter?  It 
might  create  a  scandal  and  do  the  Princess  a  lasting 
injury.  She  has  a  severe  ordeal  before  her,  but  I  think 
there  is  no  doubt  she  will  win.  Her  will  is  stronger  than 
the  King's.  I  think  it  would  be  better  to  leave  the 
matter  to  Time." 

"Time! — a  woman  like  Ranata  for  six  months,  a  year, 
in  confinement  and  uncertainty !  She  must  be  got  out 
at  once,  and  there  is  only  one  person  who  can  make  the 
deliverance  final.  Now  I  am  going  to  say  something 
that  will  make  you  all  jump.  My  brother  intends  to 
marry  Ranata." 

They  did  jump,  with  the  exception  of  Vilma. 

"Ach  so!"  Sarolta's  tones  were  guttural  with  irony, 
but  her  fingers  shook  slightly  as  she  lit  a  cigar. 

"But,  mademoiselle,"  murmured  Prince  Illehazy 
politely,  "you  know,  of  course,  that  it  is  impossible. 
No  one  can  sympathize  more  than  I  with  the  romance  of 
youth,  and  I  have  been  deeply  interested;  but  marriage 
— between  an  Archduchess  of  Austria  and  Princess  of 
Hungary  and,  pardon  me,  an  American — you  who  know 
your  Europe  must  surely  have  discouraged  Mr.  Abbott." 

"I  never  set  myself  impossible  tasks.     Fessenden  will 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

marry  Ranata ;  of  that  I  have  not  the  slightest  doubt.  I 
know  now  that  I  have  always  anticipated  it — and  so  has 
my  father ! — although  as  far  as  I  am  concerned  I  thought 
of  it  until  lately  as  a  dream,  rather.  I  know  now  that  it 
was  a  belief,  and  founded  on  my  intimate  knowledge  of 
both  and  of  their  fitness  for  each  other;  as  well  as  on 
that  very  knowledge  of  Europe  which  assures  me  that 
if  I  live  I  shall  see  greater  social  revolutions  than  the 
marriage  of  an  American  with  a  princess  of  the  blood. 
You  are  dumfounded  because  you  know  Europe  only. 
Go  over  and  live  in  the  United  States  for  a  while  and 
you  will  come  back  with  the  future  in  your  brain  as 
well  as  the  past." 

"I  have  never  been  in  the  United  States,  but  I  think 
this  strange  love-affair  is  the  most  beautiful  thing  in 
the  world,  and  I  would  help  them  if  I  could!" 

It  was  Vilma  who  spoke,  and  she  was  leaning  forward 
with  her  hands  gripping  the  arms  of  her  chair.  The 
grayish  pallor  of  her  skin  had  never  been  more  noticeable, 
and  the  lines  about  her  mouth  were  tense.  Not  only 
had  every  nerve  been  on  edge  since  Ranata 's  departure 
two  days  ago,  but  she  was  possessed  by  the  exaltation 
of  the  martyr;  she  was  not  going  to  the  stake  for  the 
ideals  of  the  proud  aristocracy  of  her  ancient  country, 
but  in  sacrificing  those  ideals  in  the  hope  to  compass  the 
happiness  of  two  exceptional  beings  she  felt  that  she 
had  made  good  her  claim  to  the  martyr's  crown.  But 
the  time  had  come  when  her  morbidity  might  prove  more 
useful  than  the  healthy  impatience  of  Alexandra,  who 
had  little  talent  for  intrigue;  and  who  looked  upon 
Vilma  as  one  of  the  unfortunate  products  of  a  too 
conservative  aristocracy. 

"Princess,"  she  continued,  appealing  to  her  chief, 
"you  do  not  approve,  of  course.  But  you  would  not 
betray  us  if  we  attempted  to  help  her?" 

372 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

Sarolta  bit  the  end  of  her  cigar.  "I  would  do  all  I 
could  to  help  her  out  of  this  difficulty;  but  connive  at 
her  marriage  with  an  American — never!  I  have  out 
grown  romantic  nonsense;  and  I  am  also  a  loyal  subject 
of  my  king,  although  I  do  think  he  is  an — " 

"But  what  you  did  not  know,  dear  Princess,  you 
would  not  feel  obliged  to  discover,  now  that  you  are 
no  longer  Obersthofmeisterin,"  said  Vilma  wheedlingly. 
"Why  not  leave  it  to  her?  You  do  not  believe,  do  you, 
that  she  would  make  such  a  marriage?" 

"I  do  not.     There  at  least  my  faith  is  unshaken." 

"Then  take  me  to  Vienna  with  you,  and  close  your 
eyes  if  I  try  to  communicate  with  her.  Only  I  can,  for  I 
am  quite  unknown  in  Vienna,  insignificant  in  appearance, 
and  if  the  King  has  ever  seen  me  he  would  not  recognize 
me.  I  cannot  go  unless  you  take  me,  but  go  I  must." 

Sarolta,  whose  heart,  as  the  astute  Vilma  well  knew, 
was  aching,  appeared  to  consider  deeply.  Finally  she 
shrugged  her  shoulders.  "I  cannot  see  what  you  could 
accomplish ;  but  you  might  let  her  see  you  occasionally  in 
the  Franzensplatz  and  give  her  a  little  comfort.  The  rest 
of  us  cannot  go  near  it.  Alex,  of  course  you  will  return 
with  me  as  soon  as  I  have  closed  the  palace.  Zrinyi,  I 
think  you  and  Vienna  had  better  be  strangers  for  the 
present." 

"I  go  to  Vienna  the  day  you  do,"  announced  Zrinyi. 
"The  King,  on  second  thoughts,  will  do  nothing  more  to 
irritate  Hungary.  If  he  ordered  me  out  of  Vienna  I 
should  return  here  and  tell  the  whole  story.  Molna'r 
would  go  off  his  head  and  demand  the  liberty  and  return 
of  the  Princess  as  the  price  of  peace  in  the  country. 
In  any  case  he  could  set  the  tongues  of  all  Europe 
wagging,  and  the  King  would  find  himself  outwitted. 
He  is  shrewd  enough  to  know  this  —  or  his  ministers 
are.  They  will  pursue  a  very  moderate  and  conserva- 

373 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

tive  course  outside  the  Hofburg.  After  all,  this  is  the 
twentieth  century." 

"Who  would  have  thought  it!"  said  Alexandra.  "Will 
you  come  with  me,  Count,  while  I  write  my  telegram, 
and  then  send  it  yourself?" 

"I  would  take  it  to  Berlin  if  I  could  get  there  as 
quickly,"  said  Zrinyi  gallantly. 

"Count,"  murmured  his  tormentor  as  they  left  the 
room,  "you  are  a  brick.  I  am  a  grateful  soul.  I  feel 
uncommonly  like  rewarding  you." 


XXXIII 

For  twenty -four  hours  Ranata's  brain  whirled  to  no 
machinery  but  her  wrath.  To  that  succeeded  an  en 
ergetic  desire  to  escape.  All  her  prejudices  and  sep 
arate  ambitions  had  gone  down  in  that  final  moment 
of  disillusion,  and  she  was  determined  to  marry  Fessen- 
den  Abbott  as  soon  as  she  was  beyond  the  reach  of  her 
father.  But  her  brain,  fertile  as  it  was,  and  abnormally 
active,  could  conceive  no  method  of  leaving  unobserved 
that  great  palace  of  many  corridors  never  for  a  mo 
ment  deserted.  She  was  forced  to  relinquish  her  in 
tention  to  bribe  the  guards,  for  there  were  constantly 
three  together,  and  it  would  seem  that  they  were  changed 
every  half  hour.  To  assume  the  disguise  of  a  servant 
was  equally  impracticable,  for  not  one  of  those  in  at 
tendance  upon  her  reached  her  shoulder,  and  they  were 
as  closely  watched  as  herself.  Her  rooms  were  not 
high  above  the  ground,  but  a  guard  paced  beneath  her 
window  day  and  night,  and  the  guard-room  was  opposite. 
She  was  in  the  very  heart  of  a  great  European  capital 
preeminent  in  science  and  art,  the  civilized  virtues  and 
vices,  not  a  hundred  yards  from  cabs  and  crowded 

374 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

streets,  and  no  mountain  fortress  could  enclose  her 
more  securely. 

When  Maria  Leopoldina  arrived,  after  a  delay  wel 
come  to  both,  Ranata  greeted  her  with  some  warmth, 
but  frankly  asked  her  to  remain  in  her  own  rooms  as 
much  as  possible.  This  the  duenna  was  more  than 
willing  to  do.  Not  only  had  she  returned  to  her  exact 
ing  post  from  her  pleasant  retirement  with  a  reluctance 
she  dared  not  express  to  her  sovereign,  but  she  had  a 
very  considerable  understanding  of  her  former  charge, 
and  was  by  no  means  unsympathetic.  She  recognized 
the  necessity  of  drastic  measures  in  so  lamentable  a 
state  of  a  princess's  affections  and  temper,  and  she 
should  do  her  duty  cost  her  what  it  might;  but  she 
would  obey  the  letter  of  her  instructions  only,  and 
leave  the  prisoner  such  freedom  as  she  still  could  find 
within  her  own  walls. 

And  then  the  days  dragged  themselves  out.  Ranata 
saw  no  one  but  her  cousin  and  servants,  received  no 
message  from  the  world;  even  Maria  Leopoldina  was 
not  permitted  the  solace  of  a  newspaper.  Ranata  seldom 
sat  down,  but  moved  about  until  all  her  body  ached 
with  weariness,  pausing  every  few  moments  to  look  down 
upon  the  Pranzensplatz,  through  the  sheltering  lace  of 
the  curtain,  in  the  hope  that  Fessenden  Abbott  would 
saunter  through  with  intent  to  give  her  courage.  If 
she  tried  to  forget  her  plight  in  a  book  she  would  fling 
it  down  presently  and  fly  to  the  window  lest  she  miss 
him. 

In  these  first  hours  she  was  too  hard  for  lovers'  regrets, 
so  wroth  was  she  at  the  insult  put  upon  her  individuality, 
and  so  great  her  astonishment  that  with  all  the  intellect 
and  character  of  which  she  had  vaunted  herself  she  was 
as  helpless  to  move  in  behalf  of  her  own  destiny,  as  poor 
in  resource,  in  these  primitive  circumstances  to  which 

375 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

her  father  and  sovereign  had  reduced  her,  as  any  little 
fool  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Although  she  had  been  warned 
by  her  opportunities  of  close  observation  against  the 
devouring  and  repulsive  selfishness  of  those  who  pushed 
the  culte  du  moi  to  its  modern  limits,  yet  few  women  had 
so  proudly  developed  their  individuality,  few  had  so 
jealously  insisted  upon  the  right  of  the  brain  to  its  own 
thoughts,  of  the  character  to  develop  in  its  own  way 
and  as  far  as  human  limitations  would  permit.  If  she 
had  until  her  visit  to  Hungary  been  submissive  to  the 
laws  of  her  position  it  had  been  because  she  had  de 
liberately  chosen  submission,  and  aloofness,  as  her  part, 
as  her  highest  duties  to  her  house;  not  because  she 
stood  in  the  slightest  awe  of  her  father,  or  recognized 
his  right  to  direct  her  thoughts  and  conduct.  It  is 
doubtful  if  she  could  have  loved  Fessenden  Abbott  had 
she  not  recognized  in  him  a  spirit  as  free  as  her  own, 
and  an  enlightenment  and  a  sympathetic  understanding 
which  would  never  seek  to  change  nor  control  her.  She 
had  found  a  mate,  not  a  master,  and  both  being  the 
extreme  products  of  their  century,  their  prospects  of  a 
lifelong  desire  for  partnership  exceeded  those  in  the 
great  restless  sea  of  awakened  intelligence  between  the 
highest  type  and  the  commonplace.  Ranata,  in  more 
passionate  hours  of  longing  and  anguish,  had  felt  the 
possibilities  she  relinquished,  rather  than  grasped  them 
with  her  reason,  but  now  she  knew  their  full  significance, 
and  the  knowledge  helped  her  to  deeper  indignation  of 
the  mediseval  conditions  into  which  she  had  abruptly 
been  thrust. 

The  days  passed  and  the  lover  gave  no  sign  that  he  was 
as  distraught  as  the  prisoner.  There  are  times  in  life 
when  one  lives  very  fast.  The  first  forty-eight  hours  of 
her  imprisonment  consumed  the  mental  energies  of 
months.  As  the  first  excitement  decreased,  and  with  it 

376 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

something  of  the  novelty  of  her  situation,  her  mind  was 
free  again  for  thoughts  and  dreams  she  had  been  half 
glad  to  forget,  so  many  were  the  pangs  they  had  held. 
And  in  the  train  of  love  came  all  the  doubts  and  tragic 
conceptions  with  which  a  woman  cursed  with  imagina 
tion  never  fails  to  torment  herself.  The  women  for 
whom  men  would  most  willingly  die — if  there  be  yet 
that  spirit  abroad  in  the  world — women  who  in  the  end 
are  most  sure  to  discard  the  still  ardent  lover,  often 
suffer  in  their  imaginary  tragedies  as  intensely  as  their 
more  constant  and  less  valued  sisters  in  their  hopeless 
realities.  Ranata  was  not  the  woman  to  love  and  tire, 
but  her  imagination  was  the  least  controlled  of  her 
faculties.  She  descended  into  the  very  depths  of  de 
pression  and  convinced  herself  that  Fessenden  Abbott 
had  taken  her  at  her  word  and  returned  to  America 
before  any  one  had  suspected  her  imprisonment  and 
sent  him  warning.  (The  faithful  maid  had  not  dared 
to  confess  her  eavesdropping.)  She  might  be  confined 
here  until  she  lost  her  reason,  and  he  would  drown  his 
thoughts  of  her  in  the  hideous  details  of  business,  or  in 
those  great  schemes  of  his,  remembering  her  only  as  a 
purified  spirit ;  likely  enough,  wearying  of  the  cold  picture. 
She  forgot  her  ideals,  even  her  instinctive  knowledge  of 
him,  and  treated  his  vows  with  cynicism.  What  man  in 
this  practical  modern  world — and  the  world  was  practical 
and  modern  outside  of  the  Hofburg — would  be  faithful 
to  the  woman  hidden  forever  from  his  sight  ?  He  would 
marry,  of  course,  and  forget  her;  why,  indeed,  should  he 
not?  And  what  if  he  did?  There  were  times  when  she 
hated  him,  when  in  the  prolonged  contemplation  of  his 
commonplace  infidelity  she  despised  him  as  unworthy  of 
her,  and  hardened  her  heart  until  she  doubted  if  it  ever 
would  melt  again,  even  if  he  suddenly  appeared  and 
took  her  in  his  arms. 

377 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

These  crises  in  a  woman's  brain  are  very  unfortunate, 
and  when  men  are  wiser  they  will  study  to  prevent  them. 
After  all,  it  is  the  psychical  experience  that  tells,  not  the 
visible  cause,  and  the  scars  may  be  deep  and  callous.  In 
this  case  poor  Fessenden  was  helpless,  and  Ranata  had 
still  felt  and  known  so  little  that  she  had  elasticity  enough 
to  survive  several  such  crises  without  the  worst  effects ; 
but  if  life  had  added  bitterness  to  her  store  of  experi 
ence  she  might  have  come  out  of  her  ordeal  with  her 
best  prospect  for  happiness  blasted. 

Time  cured  this  mood;  but  the  passing  of  doubt  and 
the  restoration  of  the  lover  to  favor  helped  her  little  to 
serenity.  She  recalled  every  look,  the  tones  of  his  voice, 
every  moment  they  had  snatched  together,  all  that  he 
had  taught  her.  She  remembered  every  trick  of  speech 
and  expression,  the  lighter  but  still  personal  habit  they 
had  fallen  into  of  sitting  apart  for  a  few  minutes  after 
the  tea-hour,  while  the  others  were  drinking  their  coffee 
in  one  of  the  reception-rooms,  at  the  opera  and  theatre, 
or  riding  to  the  Schwabenberg  in  the  early  morning. 
These  had  become  established  habits,  and  she  regretted 
them  almost  as  intensely  as  the  more  concentrated  mo 
ments  ;  she  had  known  to  the  full  the  tantalizing  sweet 
ness  of  the  intimate  understanding  in  a  crowd. 

And  she  recalled  all  she  knew  of  him  through  the  stories 
he  had  told  her  of  himself  in  the  years  before  they  had 
met.  They  revealed  him  in  many  phases,  and  she  had 
often  lingered  on  them  when  alone.  But  there  was  one 
that  now  seemed  to  be  always  in  her  brain,  to  rise  vividly 
in  the  brief  moments  when  she  was  not  struggling  with  a 
passion  of  grief,  of  regret,  above  all  striving  to  tear  her 
mind  from  the  uncertainty,  the  maddening  inability  to  act. 

It  was  a  brief  graphic  story  of  an  adventure  in  a 
mountain-pass  in  Venezuela,  when  with  three  or  four 
men  he  had  been  set  upon  by  half  a  score  of  the  threat  - 

378 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

ened  dictator's  followers.  The  case  had  been  desperate, 
there  had  been  a  few  moments  when  he  had  never  ex 
pected  to  see  a  wider  sky  again,  and  in  those  moments  it 
was  not  so  much  he  that  had  fought  as  Life  itself.  His 
pistol  emptied,  stabbed,  shot,  his  clothing  almost  off  his 
back,  he  was  dragged  to  and  fro  on  the  rough  mountain- 
road,  hacking,  struggling,  hating,  not  a  harking  in  him 
to  his  old  love  of  the  fight  in  that  gasping  tortured 
wrestle  with  Death  himself;  possessed  only  by  the 
furious  determination  of  Life  to  persist,  to  win  against 
the  enemy  that  never  for  an  instant  sleeps  on  its  trail- 
so  that  the  wonder  is  man  lives  a  month  from  birth. 
At  the  end  it  had  seemed  to  him  that  he  saw  the  two 
ancient  enemies  at  each  other's  throats. 

Fessenden's  face  had  been  composed  enough  as  he  told 
the  story,  but  her  imagination  had  visioned  it  set  and 
desperate,  pictured  the  swollen  chords  of  his  neck,  the 
muscles  on  his  half -naked  and  bleeding  body  bulging  with 
rage  and  resistance.  His  eye  had  glazed  as  Keene  arrived 
and  put  the  assassins  to  flight,  and  he  had  sunk  into 
unconsciousness  in  bitterness  and  resentment,  believing 
that  he  was  dying.  None  of  his  stories  of  brilliant  and 
reckless  adventure  had  stirred  her  like  this  glimpse  into 
his  primeval  depths,  depths  which  in  the  lower  types 
make  for  ruin,  and  when  rarely  in  the  ken  of  the  great 
forces  of  soul  and  brain  are  chief  among  the  main -springs 
of  a  man's  conquest  over  Life.  The  oftener  this  picture 
recurred  to  her,  the  face  convulsed,  or  indomitable  and 
grim,  of  the  man  she  understood  so  well,  the  more  was 
she  persuaded  that  something  had  happened  to  still  his 
energies,  or  he  would  have  made  her  a  sign  before  this. 
It  had  not  needed  that  story  to  convince  her  that  his 
courage  would  never  fail  him,  but  it  now  served  the  pur 
pose  of  suggesting  a  similar  strait  where  a  wild  revolt 
against  death  availed  him  nothing. 

379 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

It  needed  only  a  shock  to  send  the  blood  to  her  head 
and  deliver  her  nerves  from  the  control  of  her  will,  which 
had  struggled  hard  to  keep  in  office.  The  shock  came, 
and  Maria  Leopoldina  was  the  apologetic  medium.  She 
entered  Ranata's  sitting-room  on  the  sixth  morning  of 
the  imprisonment  with  a  newspaper,  and  pointed  to  a 
marked  paragraph.  The  news  item  stated  that  the 
famous  American,  Herr  Abbott,  had  sailed  on  his  yacht 
from  Trieste  for  New  York  on  the  previous  day. 

Then  it  was  that  the  blood  flew  to  Ranata's  head  and 
stayed  there.  It  disorganized  her  will,  almost  her  powers 
of  consecutive  thought.  A  moment  of  forgetfulness  and 
the  tide  of  feeling,  of  terrified  emotion,  poured  upward 
again,  shaking  her  body  and  racking  her  nerves.  She 
slept  but  a  few  hours  at  night,  waking  with  a  load  of 
despair  and  terror  in  her  brain.  Her  desperate  efforts  at 
self-control,  her  prayers  for  strength,  were  of  no  avail;  for 
it  must  be  remembered  that  mental  suffering  is  a  physical 
thing  after  all,  psychical  as  may  be  the  heights  it  is  flung 
upon,  and,  until  it  has  spent  itself,  as  little  to  be  con 
trolled  as  a  fever  of  the  body.  There  was  a  constant 
effort  in  her  throat  to  gasp,  and  moments  of  such  utter 
and  tumultuous  despair  that  it  seemed  to  her  she  saw 
straight  into  the  soul  of  her  brother  during  his  last 
tormented  moments.  For  it  is  in  such  depths  of  mental 
suffering,  when  the  passions  are  in  absolute  control  of 
the  brain,  and  the  victim  if  not  mad  might  as  well  be, 
that  life  is  taken.  The  strength  in  Ranata's  soul  fought 
dumbly  and  persistently  for  mastery,  and  won  in  the 
end,  but  a  weaker  woman,  with  imagination  and  passions 
as  strong,  would  have  killed  herself. 

Finally  she  demanded  of  Maria  Leopoldina — blissfully 
ignorant  of  the  tragedies  enacting  within  the  hard  exte 
rior  of  her  charge — a  sleeping-potion ;  and  the  steward 
ess,  when  she  returned  with  it,  brought  also  the  informa- 

380 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

tion  that  as  a  hasty  marriage  would  undoubtedly  cause 
a  scandal  exactly  similar  to  that  which  had  entertained 
Europe  upon  the  informal  exit  into  matrimony  of  the 
late  wife  of  the  Archduke  Aloys  Franz,  it  had  been 
determined  that  the  ceremony  should  not  take  place 
until  two  months  hence.  The  official  announcement 
of  the  engagement  would  be  made  presently,  however, 
and  until  the  day  of  the  wedding  she  must  remain  in 
her  rooms. 

"Why,  now  that  Mr.  Abbott  has  gone?"  asked 
Ranata.  "Why  deprive  me  of  my  liberty  when  I  could 
make  no  use  of  it?" 

"I  cannot  say,  my  dear,"  answered  Maria  Leopoldina. 
"It  would  not  take  him  long  to  come  back,  you  know; 
and  then  you  have  not  given  your  formal  consent  to 
marriage  with  Aloys." 

"That  is  a  point  I  had  quite  forgotten,"  said  Ranata 
dryly.  "  I  hope  my  father  and  my  prospective  husband 
are  not  unduly  impatient." 

On  the  following  day,  after  the  surcease  of  the  sleeping- 
powder,  and  the  inevitable  reaction  from  many  days  of 
torment,  she  felt  almost  light-hearted  and  frivolous,  and 
wondered  if  it  were  possible  to  suif  er  like  that  more  than 
once  in  a  lifetime.  Passing  a  window  her  eye  was  idly 
attracted  by  the  shabby  figure  of  a  tourist.  It  was  a 
bright  winter's  day,  and  visitors  to  the  great  capital 
came  to  look  at  the  fine  bronze  of  old  Emperor  Franz 
and  the  gilded  wall  where  the  drawbridge  had  been. 
Ranata  envied  them  deeply,  nameless  as  no  doubt  they 
were — she  had  a  vague  idea  that  all  sight-seers  were  a 
composite  with  a  number — for  they  had  their  precious 
liberty,  no  doubt  belonged  to  such  free  and  happy 
countries  as  England  and  America. 

This  insignificant  little  woman  carried  a  Baedeker, 
which  she  read  industriously,  walking  round  and  round 

381 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

the  statue,  with  but  an  occasional  upward  glance  at  the 
work  of  art.  Alexandra  had  told  Ranata  of  tourists  who 
read  their  Baedekers  on  the  Rhine,  forgetting  to  look  at 
the  historic  monuments  described,  and  she  watched  this 
illustration  with  some  amusement.  Suddenly  her  brows 
met,  and  she  drew  closer  to  the  window.  There  was 
something  oddly  familiar  in  the  little  deliberate  steps, 
in  the  fashion  of  opening  and  closing  the  book.  And  this 
tourist  had  been  here  on  other  days,  when  her  brain  was 
too  surcharged  to  piece  impression  to  thought!  In  a 
moment  the  girl  paused  with  her  back  to  the  window, 
and,  raising  her  hand,  nervously  twisted  a  curl  on  the 
right  of  her  neck.  It  was  Vilma  Festetics. 

She  turned,  her  curious  tourist  eye  roving  over  the 
ugly  wall  of  the  palace,  concealing  unimaginable  splen 
dors!  She  even  sighed,  and  let  her  mouth  fall  with 
discontent.  Ranata  shook  the  edge  of  the  curtain. 
Vilma  came  forward  laggingly,  her  eyes  on  her  book. 
The  guard  was  inspecting  the  peculiar  antics  of  another 
tourist,  who  had  a  bulge  beneath  his  coat.  When 
Vilma  was  directly  beneath  the  window  Ranata  threw 
it  open  and  leaned  out. 

"He  has  not  gone,"  said  Vilma  distinctly,  "and  he 
wants  your  answer  before  he  proceeds  further." 

And  Ranata  answered  as  distinctly:  "Yes.  Yes.  Yes." 

It  was  all  over  in  an  instant.  Vilma  had  shot  through 
the  archway  and  mingled  with  the  throng  in  the  Mi- 
chaelerplatz  and  Ranata  had  closed  her  window  before 
the  astounded  guards  realized  they  had  been  outwitted. 

Ranata  sat  down  to  await  the  consequences  of  her  act. 
Her  heart  sang,  and  she  did  not  care  in  the  least  what 
they  might  be.  Indeed,  closer  imprisonment,  probably 
a  change  of  quarters,  was  the  worst  she  had  to  fear;  her 
father  was  not  benighted  enough  to  put  her  in  solitary 
confinement,  nor  even  on  bread  and  water.  She  wondered 

382 


RULERS    OF   KINGS 

at  her  doubts,  at  her  facile  acceptance  of  a  news  item  that 
no  doubt  had  been  inserted  by  order  of  the  Emperor. 
She  knew  now  that  Fessenden  had  made  his  plans  and 
that  he  would  not  fail.  She  looked  back  in  amazement 
at  the  power  and  instinct  of  woman  to  torment  herself, 
and  she  also  felt  a  throb  of  satisfaction  that  she  should 
not  grow  old  and  ugly  in  the  course  of  a  month,  as  she 
had  fully  expected  to  do.  Finally  she  shed  tears  of  won 
dering  gratitude,  and  for  a  few  moments  felt  as  humble 
as  a  man  could  wish. 

It  was  not  until  two  days  later  that  Maria  Leopoldina 
announced  herself  to  the  Archduchess  at  an  early  hour, 
and  with  an  air  of  deep  depression  imparted  the  informa 
tion  that  they  were  to  leave  Vienna  on  the  following 
morning. 

"I  infer  that  we  are  bound  for  the  country,"  said 
Ranata  smiling.  "It  is  unfortunate  that  you  should 
hate  it  as  much  as  I  love  it.  Cannot  some  other  trust 
worthy  duenna  be  found?" 

The  Obersthofmeisterin  shook  her  head  with  gloomy 
pride.  "How  many  people  has  his  Majesty  had  reason 
to  trust  ?  I  may  not  be  as  brilliant  at  Sarolta,  but  I  shall 
live  and  die  in  the  confidence  of  my  sovereign.  And  as  I 
have  borne  so  many  crosses  in  this  life,  I  may  perhaps 
hope  for  compensation  in  the  next." 

"Where  there  will  be  no  kings?" 

"I  see  no  fault  in  our  august  relative,"  said  Maria 
Leopoldina  hurriedly. 

"I  should  not  tell  him  if  you  did.  Where  are  we 
going?" 

"That,  I  deeply  regret  to  say,  I  am  not  permitted  to 
tell  you  until  we  are  in  the  train.  But  we  are  going  not 
only  because  you  have  had  the  misfortune  to  incur  the 
royal  displeasure,  but  because,  as  you  are  not  to  be 

383 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

married  immediately,  his  Majesty  fears  for  your  health 
if  you  are  confined  too  long  in-doors." 

Ranata  drew  a  long  breath.  "To  live  out-of-doors 
again!  Even  alone  it  will  be  the  next  best  thing  to  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  on  a  yacht." 

"What?"  demanded  the  stewardess  sharply. 

"Oh,  you  will  not  have  to  go  to  sea  with  me;  and  you 
will  be  rid  of  me  sooner  than  you  think." 

On  the  following  morning,  Ranata,  accompanied  only 
by  Maria  Leopoldina,  three  officers  of  the  Emperor's 
household,  and  her  servants,  left  Vienna,  not  in  the 
Emperor's  private  car  but  in  ordinary  railway  carriages 
reserved  for  her  use.  She  wore  the  plainest  of  her 
travelling -frocks,  nor  was  there  anything  in  the  ap 
pearance  of  her  modest  suite  to  attract  attention;  and 
in  the  heavy  fog  of  daybreak  even  the  mounted  escort 
that  guarded  her  to  the  station  passed  unnoticed. 

When  Vienna  was  an  hour  behind  them  Maria  Leo 
poldina  informed  the  prisoner  that  they  were  bound  for 
the  Adriatic,  for  the  castle  of  Miramar,  built  by  Maxi 
milian  several  years  before  his  departure  for  Mexico.  The 
information  gave  Ranata  pleasure,  for  she  had  never  seen 
the  beautiful  home  from  which  her  uncle  had  sailed  to  his 
romantic  and  ignominious  fate.  Her  father  and  mother 
had  avoided  it  since  long  before  her  birth,  but  she  knew 
that  the  castle  was  as  comfortable  as  it  was  magnificent, 
and  that  there  were  grounds  in  whose  labyrinths  she 
could  walk  for  hours  without  the  monotony  of  repetition. 
Suddenly  she  had  an  inspiration. 

"Did  my  father  order  Mr.  Abbott's  yacht  to  leave 
Trieste?"  she  asked. 

"Ah! — well,  it  can  do  no  harm — he  did." 

"Where  is  it?" 

"That  I  do  not  know.  I  think  his  Majesty  has  not 
inquired — so  long  as  it  is  not  in  Austrian  waters." 

384 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

"Does  my  father  expect  to  keep  my  departure,  my 
residence  at  so  conspicuous  a  spot  as  Miramar,  a  secret?" 

"That  will  not  matter.  There  will  be  an  official 
announcement  made  that  you  are  gone  to  the  sea  to 
recuperate  from  an  attack  of  the  influenza,  and  a  man-of- 
war  has  been  ordered  to  Trieste;  it  will  anchor  off  the 
castle.  The  guard  in  the  castle  and  grounds  has  been 
quadrupled  from  the  garrison  at  Trieste.  Moreover — I 
will  tell  you  all,  as  it  can  do  no  harm — Mr.  Abbott  has 
given  his  parole  d'honneur  that  he  will  make  no  attempt 
to  carry  you  off;  he  wished  you  to  be  removed  to  the 
country,  it  seems.  He  has  had  the  audacity  to  ask  your 
hand  of  his  Majesty.  I  suppose  he  is  of  unsound  mind, 
poor  young  man." 

And  Maria  Leopoldina  had  the  profound  satisfaction 
of  writing  to  her  sovereign  and  cousin  that  evening 
that  his  daughter  had  received  this  proof  of  American  ab 
surdity  and  presumption  with  a  peal  of  laughter  which 
had  warmed  her  own  heart,  heavy  with  responsibility, 
and  with  sympathy  for  his  most  gracious  majesty. 


XXXIV 

The  Emperor  of  Austria,  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  Mr. 
Abbott,  and  Fessenden  Abbott  sat  in  secret  and  informal 
conclave  in  a  small  audience  chamber  in  the  Hofburg. 
The  host  sat  behind  a  table  between  two  high  and  heavy 
golden  candlesticks.  The  Emperors,  erect  in  their  uni 
forms,  were  imposing  figures.  They  had  the  free  supple 
upright  carriage  of  men  whose  lives  have  been  more 
than  half  passed  in  the  saddle,  and  their  eyes  sparkled 
with  the  evidence  of  exercise  and  fresh  air,  regular 
habits,  and  systematic  care.  Mr.  Abbott,  in  a  frock- 
coat,  was  huddled  in  a  perpendicular  chair  of  crimson 
2*  385 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

velvet  and  gilded  oak,  in  a  vain  endeavor  to  make  him 
self  comfortable,  and  surreptitiously  consuming  tab 
loids  ;  suffering  in  the  stomach  he  had  failed  to  treat  as 
a  brother  the  tortures  of  the  damned.  He  looked  with 
envy  at  the  older  Emperor  who  had  been  born  some 
twenty  years  before  himself,  had  endured  enough  pub 
lic  cares  and  private  castigations  to  kill  half  a  dozen 
Americans,  and  looked  more  vigorous  than  many  in 
their  youth.  It  was  even  possible  that  he  might  outlive 
the  young  man  who  aspired  to  be  his  son-in-law;  towards 
whom  his  eyes,  in  spite  of  his  will,  wandered  in  the 
fascination  of  a  shock  from  which  he  found  himself 
unable  to  recover. 

It  was  now  a  fortnight  since  he  had  been  made  aware 
that  nothing  less  was  asked  of  him  than  that  he  should 
give  his  daughter  in  marriage  to  a  scion  of  a  country  not 
only  devoid  of  every  tradition  of  royalty,  but  of  an 
hereditary  aristocracy;  and  while  he  was  still  stunned 
and  dully  alarmed  for  what  he  conceived  to  be  his 
failing  wits,  this  demand  had  been  backed  up  by  an 
offer  which  had  awakened  him,  it  is  true,  but,  he  having 
outlived  the  age  of  romance  and  enthusiasm,  had  by 
no  means  met  with  favor,  nor  even  credulity.  To  avoid 
war  in  any  form  was  the  final  ambition  of  his  life,  and 
he  was  proud  of  his  position  as  keeper  of  the  peace  of 
central  and  eastern  Europe.  On  the  other  hand,  he 
admitted  that  were  he  forty  years  younger  he  would 
doubtless  have  grasped  any  reasonable  opportunity  to 
rid  Europe  of  the  governments  of  Russia  and  Turkey, 
civilize  and  give  happiness  to  those  two  countries, 
estimable  enough  in  themselves,  and  mount  to  a  place 
in  history  high  above  the  mistakes  and  disasters  of  his 
unfortunate  reign.  But  he  was  old,  and  with  the 
selfishness  of  the  old  had  long  since  resolved  that  he 
would  close  his  reign  in  peace  could  it  be  done  without 

386 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

dishonor.  As  for  the  inventions,  they  seemed  to  him 
as  chimerical  as  the  prospective  telegraph  did  to  his 
forefathers,  as  the  telephone  would  seem  to  an  Esqui 
maux.  Moreover,  that  the  restless  and  uncertain  quan 
tity  who  claimed  him  as  his  "fatherly  friend"  was  the 
one  from  whom  the  astounding  proposition  came,  was 
enough  to  fill  his  bosom  to  repletion  with  distrust;  the 
more  especially  as  the  invention  was  the  property  of  an 
American  notoriously  the  German's  friend.  The  Em 
peror  took  little  interest  in  American  history  or  affairs, 
but  it  happened  that  he  knew  a  good  deal  about  Fessen- 
den  Abbott ;  not  only  through  the  intimacy  of  Alexandra 
with  his  daughter,  nor  yet  through  an  acquaintance  of 
long  standing  with  Mr.  Abbott— for  whom  he  had  a 
very  considerable  respect — but  because  of  the  young 
man's  menacing  exploit  in  South  America,  his  establish 
ment  of  certain  and  apparently  impregnable  industries 
in  Europe,  and  his  reputation  as  a  manipulator  of  men. 
No  doubt  he  was  the  only  man  in  his  raw  country  who 
would  have  dared  so  far  as  to  love  a  princess  of  royal 
blood,  much  less  have  had  the  incomprehensible  au 
dacity  to  bargain  for  her  hand;  but  of  all  men  in  any 
objectionable  republic  whatsoever,  the  Emperor- King 
knew  of  no  one  to  whom  under  severest  stress  he  would 
longer  hesitate  to  give  any  sort  of  recognition.  He  was 
aware  of  young  Abbott's  principles  and  theories;  they 
had  been  hammered  into  his  smarting  ears  by  the  only 
one  of  his  children  who  had  been  dowered  to  the  full 
with  the  haughty  and  intolerant  spirit  of  her  race ;  and 
he  looked  upon  him  as  a  menace  to  the  best  that  was 
left  in  the  world.  The  wealth  of  these  two  men  appalled 
him,  albeit  he  was  the  richest  monarch  in  Europe;  and 
as  he  listened  once  more  to  the  description  of  the  in 
credible  inventions  and  their  certainties,  he  found  him 
self  staring  at  the  little  old  man  in  the  chair  and  the 

3*7 


RULERS   OF    KINGS 

vigorous  restless  young  man  standing  by  the  window, 
much  as  a  half-dazed  man  watches  the  approach  of  a 
land  cyclone,  whirling  houses,  people,  and  trees  in  its 
funnel. 

He  had  been  astounded  that  one  of  his  generals, 
whom  he  had  sent  to  Berlin  to  witness  the  experiments, 
had  returned  convinced,  and  advocating  war;  and  he 
had  been  still  more  astonished  and  upset  when,  in  the 
formal  consultation  which  at  the  insistence  of  the  Ger 
man  Emperor  he  had  held  with  his  cabinets,  he  found 
that  to  a  man  they  were  for  accepting  the  offer  of  the 
American.  During  the  past  week  his  ears  had  rung 
to  no  tune  but  the  glorious  finish  of  his  reign,  the 
inestimable  service  he  had  it  in  his  power  to  bestow  upon 
Christianity  and  Europe,  the  sure  future  of  his  Dual 
Monarchy  —  which  the  intoxicating  knowledge  of  its 
greatness  would  solidify.  The  only  thing  they  had 
stumbled  over  was  the  condition ;  for  the  Emperor  was 
no  more  conservative  than  his  aristocracy,  and  the  idea 
of  allying  the  most  exclusive  monarchy  in  the  world  with 
the  most  blatant  and  dangerous  of  republics,  that  more 
over  which  had  recently  whipped  one  of  the  ancient 
states  of  Europe,  was  a  huge  pill  for  them  to  swallow. 
Had  it  not  been  that  they  all  felt  that  Europe  would 
be  well  rid  of  this  particular  princess — even  Konigsegg, 
with  this  alternative — it  is  doubtful  if,  no  matter  what 
their  reason  for  approving  this  projected  war,  they 
would  have  opened  their  batteries  upon  the  Emperor. 
But  as  it  was,  the  old  sovereign,  who  had  permitted  these 
many  years  his  advisers  to  do  so  much  of  his  thinking, 
had  an  irritated  subconsciousness  of  being  trapped,  and 
hardly  realized  yet  that  he  had  actually  gone  so  far  as  to 
grant  this  private  audience  and  to  permit  the  royal 
countenance  to  shine  upon  a  manifest  impossibility. 

It  was  notable  that  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  in  spite 
388 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

of  his  warm  friendship  for  Fessenden,  had  drawn  his 
chair  close  to  his  host's,  and  for  the  moment  was  in  fuller 
sympathy  with  him;  an  unconscious  manifestation  of 
that  esprit  de  corps  which  exists  among  great  rulers, 
no  matter  what  their  differences.  Fessenden  felt  this 
but  did  not  resent  it;  but  he  also  felt  that  it  left  him 
practically  alone,  his  father's  faculties  being  necessarily 
bent  to  introspection;  but  the  isolation  merely  put  him 
on  his  mettle,  and  he  had  fought  too  many  battles 
single-handed  to  feel  any  faintness  of  spirit.  Even  he  did 
not  compare  favorably  in  freshness  with  the  two  Em 
perors,  for  he  had  known  too  many  anxious  hours  in  the 
past  three  weeks,  too  many  sleepless  nights;  but  his 
temper  was  now  cast  in  iron. 

"Your  general,  as  well  as  the  Prussian  generals  who 
have  witnessed  the  experiments,  are  satisfied  that 
failure  is  impossible,"  he  said,  having  finished  the 
description  of  the  inventions,  which,  like  all  great  in 
ventions,  were  simple  enough.  "It  will  be  the  first 
time  in  the  history  of  the  world  that  a  war  will  have 
commenced  with  no  uncertainty  whatever  as  to  the 
issue." 

The  Austrian  Emperor  answered  with  a  German  prov 
erb,  the  equivalent  of  "There's  many  a  slip  'twixt  cup 
and  lip." 

"We  include  no  bunglers  in  our  calculations,  sir,"  said 
Fessenden  dryly.  "Although  every  precaution  will  be 
taken  against  their  admittance  in  the  first  place." 

The  Emperor  turned  to  his  brother  of  Germany,  who 
answered  promptly:  "I  will  confess  that  I  entertained 
the  identical  doubts  of  your  Majesty,  at  first,  but  I  have 
since  been  fully  convinced.  And  I  am  also  convinced 
that  it  is  our  great  and  only  chance.  Sooner  or  later, 
doubtless  before  half  a  dozen  years  have  passed,  Russia 
will  be  at  war  with  Japan.  That  war  may  involve  the 

389 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

rest  of  Europe,  including  ourselves;  and  fighting  for  our 
lives  perhaps  instead  of  shaping  history  as  we  think 
best.  Sooner  still  there  is  bound  to  be  trouble  again 
in  Turkey,  which  may  involve  one  or  more  of  the 
Balkans,  and  if  we  delay  we  shall  once  more  be  in  the 
periodically  mortifying  position  of  daring  to  do  nothing 
for  the  peace  of  Europe,  for  humanity,  in  our  fear  of 
Russia.  At  present  we  are  in  the  not  imposing  position 
of  merely  holding  on  to  our  inheritances  by  what  my 
American  friend  would  call  main  strength.  I  conceive 
that  a  sovereign  has  a  higher  duty.  This  great  power 
is  not  given  to  him  in  the  interest  of  his  inheritance 
alone,  although  no  doubt  its  welfare  is  his  first  duty,  but 
as  a  stepping-stone  to  a  greater  power  which  shall  benefit 
the  human  race.  It  is  often  the  case,  as  your  Majesty 
well  knows,  that  a  ruler  may  be  so  confined  by  circum 
stances  that  he  can  make  no  such  attempt  without 
causing  disaster  instead  of  benefit,  but  the  great  men 
of  history  have  been  alive  to  the  great  moment.  I 
believe  that  ours  has  come,  your  Majesty." 

The  old  Emperor  darted  a  glance  at  his  rival  and 
friend,  as  though  to  note  if  his  tongue  were  in  his  cheek. 
He  answered  with  the  same  accent  of  respect,  however. 
"I  cannot  fail  to  respond  to  words  so  stirring,  your 
Majesty,  and  I  need  not  add  that  my  conception  of  the 
lofty  duties  of  a  ruler  is  precisely  the  same  as  your  own. 
But  war  in  any  case  is  a  stupendous  calamity,  if  only  for 
the  loss  of  life  it  incurs.  And  in  any  conditions  the 
added  responsibilities  of  conquered  territory  are  among 
the  weightiest  considerations  which  must  always  affect 
a  ruler  no  longer  young.  Tn  this  case,  with  the  half  of 
Russia  and  Turkey  and  the  Balkans  ^to  add  to  my 
present  heavy  load,  I  confess  the  prospect  does  not 
allure  me!  Reflect,  your  Majesty,  that  I  have  already 
a  perpetual  nightmare  in  Hungary.  If  I  were  a  genera- 

390 


RULERS     OF    KINGS 

tion  younger  I  might  contemplate  with  equanimity 
the  additional  problem  of  sixty  or  seventy  million  more 
subjects  clamoring  for  constitutions,  but  not  now!" 

William  did  not  reply  that  he  would  gladly  relieve 
his  august  friend  of  all  but  his  countenance;  he  an 
swered  quickly. 

"It  will  be  our  part  to  civilize  these  people,  to  give 
them  the  benefit  of  the  reforms  they  have  long  been 
promised    and   never   granted.     That   will   keep   them 
quiet  for  a  while.     When  they  reach  the  stage  where 
enough  has  begotten  a  desire  for  more,  then  we  can  deal 
with  them  by  another  method  for  which  we  will  have 
the  inspiration  at  the  right  moment.     And  in  this  war, 
your  Majesty,  there  need  be  no  loss  of  life  on  our  side; 
there  will  of  course  on  the  other  for  a  short  time,  but 
less  by  many  thousands  than  both  Turkey  and  Russia 
will  cause  before  Europe  is  many  years  older,  less  than 
die  of  famine  and  filth  every  year." 
^  He  stood  up,  his  eyes  flashing,  his  cheeks  glowing. 
Europeans,  unlike  Anglo-Saxons,  are  not  afraid  of  ex 
pressing  lofty  sentiments,  and  William  was  the  last  man 
to   consider  whether  people   approved   or  not   of   any 
sentiments  he  chose  to  entertain.     "I  believe  that  it  is 
our  destiny,  your  Majesty,"  he  cried.     "And  that  it  is 
the  greatest  destiny  that  ever  has  befallen  any  sovereign. 
For,  I  swear  to  you  all,  I  have  no  desire  to  be  a  second 
Napoleon,  crushing  and  ravaging,  but  to  rule  men  for 
their  good,  to  have  a  vast  empire  in  which  human  life 
shall  be  as  protected,  as  safe,  as  it  is  in  my  own  empire 
to-day,  where  all  may  have  a  chance  to  prosper  and  be 
happy,  to  worship  God  in  their  own  way,  where  such 
tyranny  of  the  mind  and  body  as  still  exists  in  these 
benighted  parts  of  Europe — to  our  shame,  your  Majesty, 
to  our  shame! — will  be  abolished  so  completely  that 
the  children  of  those  who  suffer  so  bitterly  to-day  shall 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

listen  to  tales  of  the  past  with  incredulous  amazement. 
I  have  burned  for  this  since  the  day  I  ascended  the 
throne,  but  I  had  no  right  to  plunge  my  country  into  a 
war  in  which  the  chances  were  all  against  me.  Now  1 
believe  that  the  day  has  come ! — the  day  has  come!  And 
I  beg,  I  implore  your  Majesty  not  to  throw  away  this 
opportunity  to  make  our  names  and  our  empires  the 
most  invincible  on  earth,  our  opportunity  for  good  such 
as  no  sovereign  before  has  ever  dared  to  dream  of.  If 
we  let  it  pass  we  deserve  the  worst  that  can  befall  us. 
But  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  believe  that  your  Majesty 
will  let  it  pass.  I  have  seen  it  all  before  me!  I  have 
already  lived  in  that  future — ruled  by  the  sword,  by 
kings  divinely  appointed,  sternly,  inflexibly,  but  with 
wisdom,  with  kindness,  with  justice.  I  have  been 
cramped,  thwarted,  balked  at  every  turn;  there  have 
been  times  when  my  interest,  even  my  courage,  has  al 
most  failed  me;  but  with  a  power  so  vast  as  this  con 
quest  would  give  me,  I  should  be  invincible,  the  enemies 
in  my  present  empire  would  crumble.  Far  from  fearing 
such  increase  of  power,  of  responsibility,  I  court  it, 
I  am  eager  for  it,  for  with  no  lesser  weapons  can  I  ac 
complish  the  destiny  to  which  I  was  born." 

Even  Mr.  Abbott  had  forgotten  his  pangs,  and  a  faint 
glow  of  excitement  had  entered  his  gray  cheeks.  Fessen- 
den,  thrilling,  forgot  his  own  desires  for  the  moment:  he 
knew  that  however  the  Emperor  might  feel  to-morrow 
that  was  the  way  he  felt  to-day.  Indeed  there  had  been 
little  exaggeration  in  his  mood.  William  thoroughly 
believed  in  himself  and  in  his  gifts  and  mission  as  a  ruler; 
and  no  matter  what  the  causes  of  discontent  which  had 
bred  the  German  socialist  of  to-day — causes  insignificant 
enough  when  compared  with  those  of  even  Italy  and 
Spain,  leaving  out  Russia  and  other  barbarous  states — 
no  one  questioned  the  clock-work  system  of  rule  in  his 

392 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

country,  the  security  of  life  and  freedom  of  conscience, 
and  the  solid  industrial  basis  on  which  he  had  set  it. 

The  Emperor  of  Austria  knew  him  well  enough  to 
believe  in  him  when  he  was  excited,  at  least,  and  he  too 
felt  a  spark  fly  up  from  the  ashes  in  his  breast.  He 
answered  temperately,  however. 

"I  should  be  the  last  to  forbid  the  fulfilment  of  such 
worthy  ambitions,  your  Majesty,  had  this  opportunity 
come  to  us  in  the  regular  and  legitimate  channels. 
But  not  only  does  it  savor  too  much  to  my  mind,  grown 
old  in  practicality,  of  Aladdin's  lamp,  but  it  would  place 
us  under  an  obligation  to  a  republic  on  another  continent 
which,  it  seems  to  me,  is  full  of  portent." 

"The  obligation  is  a  personal  one,  your  Majesty;  and 
when  we  are  in  possession  of  Europe  I  think  we  will  be 
in  a  position  to  force  our  own  tariff  conditions  on  the 
United  States.  More  I  cannot  say." 

The  older  Emperor  leaned  across  the  table  and  fixed 
him  with  his  eye. 

"Your  Majesty,"  he  said  solemnly,  "are  there  any 
conceivable  conditions  in  which  you  would  marry  your 
daughter  to  an  American?" 

William  had  expected  this  question,  and  had  trusted 
to  inspiration  to  answer  it  without  betraying  the  fact 
that  no  such  circumstances  existed  in  the  womb  of  Time. 
"Your  Majesty,"  he  replied  quickly,  "may  I  not  answer 
your  question  with  another?  Is  not  the  Archduchess 
Ranata  Theresia  a  menace  in  her  own  remarkable  self 
to  the  peace  of  your  empire,  and  doubly  so  since  she  has 
given  in  Hungary  the  evidence  of  her  talents,  and 
achieved  a  popularity  that  no  sovereign  in  Europe  en 
joys?  I  heartily  wish  she  had  been  born  a  man,  but  as 
it  is  I  must  frankly  insist  that  the  future  peace  of 
Europe  depends  as  much  upon  her  removal  as  upon  any 
other  cause." 

393 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

"  What  you  say  is  true  enough,"  replied  the  ruler  of  the 
Dual  Monarchy  gloomily,  "but  she  can  be  removed 
otherwise.  You  are  informed  of  the  alliance  I  have  in 
mind?" 

"I  am,  your  Majesty,  and  with  all  my  humble  defer 
ence  for  your  judgment  I  am  forced  to  say  that  I  do 
not  believe  such  a  marriage  would  effect  the  result  we 
desire.  In  the  first  place,  it  would  be  a  contest  of  two 
strong  wills,  and  your  daughter  is  a  woman  of  Haps- 
burg  gifts,  quite  aside  from  her  force  of  character;  in 
the  second  place,  she  is  a  woman  of  uncommon  fascina 
tion.  No  doubt  she  would  bind  the  Archduke  Aloys 
Franz  hand  and  foot,  and  gratify  her  ambitions  through 
him ;  it  must  be  remembered  that  she  could  not  be  asked 
to  take  the  oath  of  renunciation,  your  Majesty." 

The  Emperor  of  Austria  stirred  uneasily.  His  daugh 
ter's  charm  as  a  woman  had  never  seriously  occurred  to 
him,  but  he  saw  the  danger  in  a  flash.  Would  it  not 
indeed  be  better  to  get  her  out  of  Europe?  But  he 
looked  at  the  American  leaning  against  the  casement, 
encountered  the  cold  blue  eyes  before  which  millions 
seemed  ever  passing  in  review,  and  stiffened.  The 
temptation  fled.  The  idea  was  preposterous  enough, 
without  a  son-in-law  who  would  make  him  feel  as  if 
Europe  were  on  a  library -shelf  in  an  antique  binding. 

"She  can  be  shut  up,"  he  said  briefly.  "  There  is  no 
necessity  to  marry  her  at  all.  Such  things  have  been 
done,  and  they  can  be  done  again — with  all  kindness, 
of  course,  but  as  securely  as  if  in  an  underground 
dungeon." 

Fessenden  strode  forward  and  stood  in  front  of  the 
table. 

"Is  that  your  answer?"  he  asked. 

"That  is  my  answer." 

"That  you  would  shut  up  a  woman  like  that  as  if  she 
394 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

were  a  lunatic  or  an  idiot,  without  liberty,  without 
friends,  until  she  went  mad  or  killed  herself?" 

"What  would  be  done  would  be  for  the  good  of  the 
state,  and  she  herself  would  see  it  in  time."  The  last 
words  were  not  emphatic,  but  it  was  evident  that  the 
gorge  of  the  Emperor  was  rising. 

"Well,  sir,  you  will  do  nothing  of  the  sort,"  said 
Fessenden. 

"What?"  The  Emperor  was  on  his  feet.  Angry  as  he 
was,  he  stood  erect  and  majestic  against  the  red  wall,  an 
imposing  figure;  but  the  old  man  and  the  young  man,  the 
old  world  and  the  new,  glared  at  each  other  between  the 
tall  candelabra. 

The  other  men  had  also  risen.  The  Emperor  of  Ger 
many,  who  had  had  an  instant  of  deep  depression,  felt  his 
spirits  rise,  and  at  the  same  time  resented  the  light 
treatment  of  majesty. 

"You  will  do  nothing  of  the  sort,"  repeated  Fessenden. 
"And  before  the  month  is  out  you  will  give  me  your 
daughter  in  marriage  here  in  the  Hofburg.  I  have  had  no 
desire  to  threaten  you,  to  make  you  feel  your  impotence; 
I  hoped  that,  like  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  you  would  be 
sufficiently  enlightened  to  take  advantage  of  the  offer  I 
made — an  offer  in  which  you  would  have  had  no  share, 
by  the  way,  but  for  the  daughter  you  propose  to  treat  as 
if  she  were  a  wooden  doll,  or  you  some  long-forgotten 
Hapsburg.  Now  I  will  tell  you,  your  Majesty,  why 
you  will  neither  incarcerate  her  nor  forbid  her  marriage 
to  me.  If  you  withhold  your  consent  for  twenty-four 
hours,  I  shall  take  the  train  to-morrow  for  St.  Petersburg 
and  make  the  same  offer  to  the  Russian  government. 
You  may  imagine  how  long  they  would  hesitate.  With 
such  assurance  of  success  they  would  strike  to-day 
instead  of  waiting  a  half-dozen  years  for  greater  pre 
paredness.  Then,  sir,  when  Austria  was  a  province  of 

395 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

Russia,  your  daughter  would  be  the  first  prisoner  set 
free." 

^  The  Emperor  had  fallen  heavily  into  his  chair.  As 
Fessenden  finished  speaking,  William,  with  a  gasp, 
walked  to  the  window.  There  was  a  moment  of  in 
tense  and  painful  silence,  and  then  the  German  Emperor 
spoke. 

"  He  will  keep  his  word,  your  Majesty." 
The  Emperor  rose.     His  face  was  almost  purple.    His 
heavy  Hapsburg  mouth  was  trembling. 

"I  shall  give  you  your  answer  before  to-night,"  he 
said  to  Fessenden,  although  he  did  not  look  at  him. 
"And  now  I  beg  that  you  will  excuse  me.  I  am  unable 
to  stand  any  more." 

He  passed  out.  William  turned  to  Fessenden.  His 
eyes  sparkled  with  excitement,  but  he  frowned. 

"The  battle  is  won,"  he  said.  "But  what  a  coup 
d'etat!  I  am  thankful  I  knew  nothing  of  it." 

"I  should  have  been  a  poor  sort  of  friend  to  have 
taken  you  as  deeply  as  that  into  my  confidence." 

"Ah!  Well,  I  wish  the  Emperor  could  have  consent 
ed  more  gracefully.  I  hated  seeing  him  driven  to  the 
wall  like  that." 

"So  did  I.  But  it  was  success  or  failure.  The  odds 
were  even.  He  is  the  ruler  of  a  great  empire,  skilled  in 
power  and  diplomacy.  If  I  had  hesitated  to  use  the  only 
available  means  of  success,  I  should  not  be  worth  my 
salt.  For  that  matter,  he  merely  followed  a  law  of 
Nature." 

"Well,  you  have  won,  and  I  wish  you  joy.  No  doubt 
you  will  see  her  before  many  days  have  passed." 

As  they  were  leaving  the  room,  Fessenden  laid  his 
hand  on  the  other's  arm.  "Always  remember,"  he 
said,  "that  I  am  no  trafficker  in  human  beings.  I 
throw  this  great  power  into  your  hands  because  I 

396 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

believe  you  will  govern  so  wisely  that  your  people  will 
be  fitted  for  the  great  European  republic  before  you 
die." 

"  Ach  was!"  said  the  Emperor  of  Germany. 


XXXV 

The  bora  which  had  raged  for  days,  making  it  not  only 
unsafe  but  impossible  to  venture  out  of  doors,  had  flown 
round  the  isthmus  to  torment  Fiume.  The  blue  Adriatic 
sparkled  in  a  great  silence,  and,  so  brilliant  was  the 
atmosphere,  Ranata  could  fancy  she  saw  Italy  far  away 
on  the  edge  of  the  level  waters.  Even  the  little  breakers 
at  the  foot  of  the  castle  growled  like  cubs  instead  of 
bellowing  in  fury  at  the  high  confident  roar  in  the  pine 
tops  on  the  hill.  The  white  castle,  with  its  Norman 
tower  and  gateway  and  innumerable  turrets,  fresh, 
strong,  symmetrical,  solitary  on  the  long  curving  line 
of  white  coast,  whose  little  peninsula  juts  abruptly 
from  the  wooded  mountain  into  the  sea,  was  the  fair 
est  prison  that  had  ever  held  a  princess  captive.  The 
bluest  sea  in  the  world  was  at  its  feet,  the  yellow  sun 
flamed  in  a  sky  almost  as  blue,  and  on  the  mountain 
behind  were  the  everlasting  greens  of  cypress  and  pine. 
There  is  no  more  dazzling  combination  of  color  in  the 
world,  and  on  moonlight  nights  it  is  but  the  exchange 
of  gold  for  silver. 

Ranata,  standing  on  the  stone  terrace  in  front  of  the 
library  and  overhanging  the  sea,  her  back  to  the  war-ship 
on  the  right  of  the  castle,  her  eyes  roaming  from  the  in 
comparable  expanse  of  the  Adriatic  to  Trieste  and  the 
mountains  beyond,  felt  that  with  knowledge,  in  addition 
to  the  faith  that  sustained  her,  she  could  serenely  endure 
her  exile  throughout  what  she  believed  to  be  the  in- 

397 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

evitable  months.  She  had  now  been  two  weeks  at 
Miramar,  and  kings  might  have  died  and  dynasties 
fallen,  the  very  continents  might  be  at  war,  for  all  the 
news  that  had  come  to  her  from  the  world.  Not  a  letter, 
not  a  newspaper,  passed  the  sentries  at  the  gates;  the 
grounds  swarmed  with  guards;  one  paced  the  terrace 
where  she  stood ;  others  were  on  duty  at  the  head  of  the 
staircase  at  night.  She  met  Maria  Leopoldina  at  the 
second  breakfast  and  at  dinner,  and  was  accompanied 
by  that  vigorous  duenna  on  her  long  walks  in  fine 
weather,  but  subjects  of  common  interest  had  long  since 
been  exhausted  and  they  bore  each  other  silent  com 
pany,  the  older  woman  too  thankful  that  her  charge 
was  amiable  to  repine  at  her  own  fate. 

Complete  faith  had  restored  Ranata's  peace  of  mind, 
delivered  her  even  from  variability  of  mood,  and  on  the 
whole  she  had  been  glad  of  these  many  days  alone.  She 
no  longer  yearned  with  romantic  melancholy  for  life 
companioned  but  by  a  spiritualized  memory,  but  ex 
amined  herself  and  her  possibilities  conscientiously,  and 
dwelt  much,  if  soberly,  in  the  upper  air.  If  she  idealized 
Fessenden  and  the  matrimonial  state,  that  did  her  no 
harm.  Still,  the  time  seemed  long,  and  she  had  not  the 
least  idea  by  what  method  the  American  lover  purposed 
to  induce  a  Hapsburg  to  give  him  his  daughter  in 
marriage.  She  knew  that  he  would  succeed,  but  she 
also  knew  that  the  petrifactions  in  his  way  might  yield 
very  slowly  even  to  his  energy  and  habit  of  success. 

She  sighed  and  entered  the  castle.  Her  morning  walk 
had  been -a  long  one,  and  she  returned  to  the  library  for 
rest  and  the  unfailing  distraction  it  afforded  her.  It  was  a 
lofty  room,  not  too  large,  the  light  woods  of  floor  and 
ceiling  almost  reflecting  the  sunshine  which  poured 
through  the  windows.  Each  one  of  the  six  thousand 
books  in  many  languages  looked  as  if  personally  selected 

398 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

by  the  poor  gentleman  and  scholar  who  had  graced  so 
delightfully  the  one  sphere  for  which  Nature  had  designed 
him,  and  in  whose  alien  role  naught  had  become  him 
but  his  death.  The  room  had  been  bright  even  while 
the  bora  seemed  to  blow  the  very  sun  about  the  sky, 
and  the  books  in  their  haphazard  bindings  looked  so 
gay  and  fresh  that  it  was  difficult  to  believe  their  owner 
had  left  them  forty  years  before.  Only  the  photo 
graphs  of  friends,  which  covered  the  walls  of  the  ad 
joining  study,  were  faded,  their  garments  old-fashioned. 
Eugenie,  in  her  crinoline,  looked  like  a  by-gone  fashion- 
plate;  even  her  autograph  was  dim;  for  the  pictures 
had  been  hastily  thrust  into  ordinary  little  wooden  or 
gilt  frames,  and  unprotected  by  glass.  The  beauty  of 
Elizabeth  had  retired  to  the  inmost  folds  of  her  hideous 
Victorian  costume,  and  of  her  two  oldest  babies,  taken 
with  her,  little  was  noticeable  but  the  bulging  brow  and 
solemn  eyes  of  Rudolf.  But  the  crimson  of  hangings 
and  chairs  was  still  fresh  and  vivid,  the  heavy  wood 
work  of  the  low  ceiling,  its  design  repeated  in  the 
floor,  was  highly  polished,  the  pen  on  the  table  might 
have  been  dropped  yesterday;  all  the  clocks  had  been 
ticking  these  forty  years.  Every  room  in  the  castle 
looked  as  if  designed  and  furnished  by  the  happy 
young  couple,  but  these  two  rooms  were  still  most  per 
sonal,  still  were  pervaded  by  the  refinement,  the  love 
of  comfort  and  of  home,  of  Maximilian  and  Carlotta. 
Ranata,  when  forced  to  remain  in-doors,  spent  most  of  her 
time  in  them.  In  the  library  she  had  discovered  five 
volumes  of  Reports  on  Explorations  and  Surveys,  fruits 
of  the  thirty -third  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  had 
read  them  diligently.  She  had  succeeded  in  investing  the 
dry  and  spotted  pages  with  a  sentimental  interest,  all 
things  being  possible  to  a  woman  in  love;  but  although 
most  of  the  books  she  read  at  this  time  were  written  in  the 

399 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

English  language,  it  must  be  confessed  that  she  did  not 
find  her  profoundest  distraction  in  the  Reports.  To-day, 
however,  she  was  taking  down  the  fourth  volume,  albeit 
with  some  humor,  when  Maria  Leopoldina  entered  the 
library  hurriedly,  consternation  and  amazement  distort 
ing  a  countenance  habitually  masked  with  the  mincing 
placidity  of  the  courtier. 

"The  ship  is  weighing  anchor!"  she  exclaimed.  "And 
all  but  the  usual  guard  have  received  orders — by  tele 
graph  from  Vienna — to  return  to  Trieste.  And  that 
is  not  all!  I  was  asked  a  moment  ago  to  look  through 
the  spy-glass — a  steam-yacht  is  approaching  from  the 
Italian  coast — they  say  it  is  Mr.  Abbott's.  Can  Franz 
have  gone  mad?  Good  God!  can  he  be  dead?" 

Ranata  dashed  past  her,  and  up  the  stair  to  the  tower- 
room,  where  she  had  spent  so  many  hours  scanning  the 
horizon  through  the  glass.  A  moment  later,  in  its 
burgee,  she  had  read  the  personality  of  the  rapidly 
approaching  yacht.  It  was  the  Alexandra;  and  the 
war-ship  was  steaming  in  the  opposite  direction. 

When  she  turned  to  the  agitated  Obersthofmeisterin, 
close  upon  her  heels,  she  was  trembling  so  violently  she 
hardly  could  stand,  her  cheeks  were  blazing,  and  she 
thrust  her  hands  into  her  heavy  hair,  and  pulled  it  down 
as  if  its  weight  were  intolerable. 

"It  means,"  she  stammered — "it  means — cannot  you 
see? — he  has  won — already — I  am  to  marry  him!"  And 
then  Maria  Leopoldina  felt  as  if  her  nerves  had  been 
assaulted  by  a  swarm  of  hornets.  Ranata  collapsed 
upon  a  chair,  and  flew  into  hysterics.  She  had  suffered 
in  silence  during  that  first  awful  week  in  the  Hofburg, 
pride  carrying  her  successfully  through  even  that  ordeal; 
and  she  had  been  calm  enough  during  the  past  fortnight 
of  solitude  and  uncertainty;  but  in  the  face  of  this 
sudden  and  violent  prospect  of  victory  and  immediate 

400 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

happiness,  her  suppressed  energies  leaped  their  walls, 
and  she  cried  and  laughed  and  talked  incoherent  phrases 
until  the  duenna  could  stand  no  more  and  took  refuge 
in  a  dead  faint. 

Ranata  promptly  recovered  her  reason,  and  applied 
the  necessary  restoratives  without  summoning  help. 
When  she  had  led  her  vibrating  relative  to  a  sofa,  and 
fetched  a  bottle  of  salts,  she  arranged  her  own  hair 
and  face,  and  returned  to  the  tower  to  watch  the  ap 
proach  of  the  yacht.  It  steamed  swiftly  over  the  calm 
sea,  but  to  Ranata's  excited  nerves  hours  passed  before 
she  could  read  the  ensign  and  burgee  without  the  aid 
of  the  glass.  She  was  now  schooled  to  any  surprise, 
but  experienced  a  sharp  thrill  nevertheless  when  the 
proud  craft,  instead  of  passing  the  castle  and  making  for 
Trieste,  deliberately  swung  about  and  dropped  anchor 
upon  the  exact  spot  where  the  war-ship  had  kept  its 
vigilant  watch.  A  moment  later  it  ran  up  two  flags,  side 
by  side — the  Austrian  and  the  American. 

Ranata  sank  again  upon  a  chair  and  held  her  breath, 
expecting  to  see  a  boat  lowered  and  Fessenden  descend. 
But  the  long  moments  passed  —  an  hour  passed;  the 
incident  appeared  to  be  closed  for  the  present.  Officers 
sauntered  up  and  down  the  deck,  sailors  bustled  about, 
but  no  one  appeared  to  manifest  any  interest  in  the 
castle.  Finally  she  was  forced  to  conclude  that,  what 
ever  Fessenden  had  accomplished  in  Vienna,  his  yacht 
had  come  without  him. 

To  remain  inactive  any  longer  was  beyond  her  elec 
trified  nerves.  She  regarded  Maria  Leopoldina's  au 
thority  as  at  an  end,  and  it  was  evident  that  the  shaken 
Obersthofmeisterin  was  of  the  same  opinion,  for  she 
had  dragged  herself  to  her  room,  and  was  seen  no  more 
that  day.  Ranata  sent  an  invitation  to  the  captain 
and  the  officers  of  the  yacht  to  lunch  at  the  castle.  They 
26  401 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

lowered  the  flags  and  returned  with  the  messenger;  and 
although  there  was  an  animated  party  in  the  little 
dining-room  up-stairs,  all  her  subtle  questioning  was 
able  to  extract  were  the  bare  facts  that  on  the  previous 
evening  they  had  received  orders  from  their  master  in 
Vienna  to  proceed  in  the  morning  to  Miramar,  run  up 
the  two  flags  as  they  anchored  off  the  castle,  and  not 
to  lower  them  until  they  had  received  some  answering 
signal  from  her.  They  were  naively  curious,  and,  face  to 
face  with  the  Archduchess  beloved  of  their  chief,  frankly 
suspicious  of  the  sequel.  It  was  evident,  however,  that 
her  information  was  more  meagre  than  theirs,  and  they 
were  so  glad  to  get  back  to  the  tonic  sweetness  of  the 
Adriatic  after  their  fortnight  at  Venice,  most  malodorous 
of  cities,  and  so  enchanted  with  this  beautiful  princess 
and  her  castle,  that  they  were  content  without  knowl 
edge,  Yankees  though  they  were. 

After  luncheon  Ranata  took  them  for  a  walk  through 
the  gardens  and  woods  of  the  park,  keeping  them  until 
they  bored  her,  for  she  dreaded  solitude  and  looked 
forward  to  the  night  with  terror.  But  before  the  night 
came  her  nerves  were  to  be  lifted  from  the  rack. 


XXXVI 

It  was  sundown  and  she  stood  on  the  terrace  before  the 
windows  of  the  state  dining-room  on  the  eastern  side  of 
the  castle,  watching  the  shadows  darken  the  woods  rising 
almost  perpendicularly  before  her.  She  heard  the  train 
go  by  high  on  the  mountain,  and  sighed  impatiently. 
She  was  at  liberty  to  take  any  train  up  there  she  wished, 
and  here  she  must  remain  in  maddening  unquiet.  She 
even  felt  some  impatience  with  Fessenden,  who  surely 
might  have  sent  her  a  telegram. 

402 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

But  dinner  had  calmed  her  nerves — she  had  eaten  no 
luncheon,  and  once  more  took  her  evening  meal  at  the 
hour  of  five,  that  Maria  Leopoldina  might  not  add  dys 
pepsia  to  her  other  burdens— and  she  made  an  effort  to 
detach  her  thoughts  from  the  fixed  idea  and  subdue  them 
before  bedtime.  There  was  an  infinity  of  suggestion  in  her 
surroundings,  and  she  conjured  back  the  scene  of  nearly 
half  a  century  ago  when  Maximilian  and  Carlotta  had 
stood  up  in  the  boat  at  the  foot  of  the  water-steps  down 
on  her  left,  smiling  farewell  to  the  throng  of  relatives  and 
friends  who  hung  over  the  parapet  or  had  crowded  out 
upon  the  narrow  mole  as  far  as  the  sphinx  at  its  point. 
Where  the  American  yacht  rode  at  anchor,  a  ship,  in  the 
gala  dress  of  flags  and  banners  and  pennants,  had  waited 
to  carry  the  brother  of  the  Emperor  to  the  imperial 
destiny  in  which  he  and  the  many  who  loved  him  found 
cause   for   pride.     Some   there   may    have   been    with 
misgivings,  but  they  trusted  in  France;  and  that  an 
Indian  would  in  his  dreams  presume  to  treat  an  arch 
duke  of  Austria  as  a  mere  rebel  was  beyond  the  imagina 
tion  of  any  in  that  aristocratic  throng — certainly  un- 
conceived  by  the  gallant  and  smiling  gentleman  who 
looked   his   last   upon   Miramar.      Throngs    also  —  the 
people  of  Trieste — had  stood  on  the  long  flight  of  stone 
steps  with  its  three  tiers,  which  led  from  Ranata's  feet 
to  the  broad  terrace  below,  leading,  in  its  turn,  to  the 
landing  and  the  parapet;  on  the  similar  flight  rising 
opposite;  and  on  the  steps  beyond,  ascending  steeply 
to  the  quaint  stiff  old  gardens.     Ranata  fancied  the 
scoop  bonnets,  the  ugly  garments  over  the  crinoline;  and 
even  the  gay  aftermath  in  the  sky  seemed  to  flaunt  the 
colors  that  had  bedecked  the  fatal  vessel. 

But  visions  and  the  past  fled  to  their  limbo.  From 
the  mountain  came  a  wild  peculiar  cry,  the  supposed 
Indian  war-whoop  with  which  herself  and  Alexandra 

403 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

had  been  accustomed  to  pierce  the  repose  of  Ischl  and 
Schonbrunn,  when  younger.  For  a  moment  she  be 
lieved  it  to  be  another  delusion;  but  it  was  repeated, 
and  careless  of  the  astonished  sentry  she  answered  it. 
She  skirted  the  upper  parapet  and  first  garden  with  a 
fair  assumption  of  dignity,  and  entered  the  dim  twilight 
of  a  long  arbor  covered  with  wisteria  vine  and  ivy. 
Here  she  picked  up  the  tail  of  her  gown  and  sped  onward, 
and  then  up  flight  after  flight  of  steps,  along  wild  paths 
and  avenues  and  arbors,  and  up,  up,  again,  until  she 
suddenly  came  upon  Alexandra  followed  by  her  maids 
and  a  score  of  the  Hofburg  servants.  The  girls  kissed 
each  other  formally,  although  one  was  palpitating  with 
more  than  exercise,  and  the  other  bulged  with  news 
repressed.  When  they  finally  reached  the  library  Ra- 
nata  had  never  been  paler. 

"Tell  me  quickly!"  she  exclaimed.  "This  change — 
these  changes — why  have  I  received  no  official  informa 
tion?  What  does  it  all  mean?" 

"That  the  Emperor  has  practically  washed  his  hands 
of  you,  my  dear,  and  that  your  day  for  receiving  official 
information  is  over — for  which  I  hope  you  are  duly 
thankful.  It  has  been  a  long  and  weary  tussle,  but 
Fessenden  has  won  on  every  score  but  the  last :  he  was 
set  on  marrying  you  in  the  Hofburg,  but  there  your 
father  held  out.  They  were  at  it  alone  for  two  hours, 
and  even  Fessenden  was  limp  when  he  left  the  palace, 
while  the  poor  Emperor  went  to  bed  and  slept  ten  hours 
instead  of  seven.  No  argument  nor  reasoning  could  move 
him.  In  so  far  as  he  could  punish  and  humiliate  you  he 
would ;  moreover,  he  wishes  the  public  to  know  nothing 
of  the  affair  until  it  is  over.  Fessenden  was  forced  to  give 
way,  partly  because  he  didn't  want  to  be  the  death  of  him, 
partly  because  every  delay  involves  too  much  risk*  So, 
my  dear,  prepare  for  the  shock — they  are  all  coming 

404 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

to-morrow— the  Emperor,  my  father  and  Fessenden,  the 
Archdukes  and  Constitutional  Cabinet — to  witness  the 
oath  of  renunciation,  the  Archbishop  to  administer  it 
—not  a  woman  but  myself  and  Maria  Leopoldina— no 
wedding-gown— I  begged  him  to  let  me  bring  one,  but 
he  said  you  should  be  married  in  a  travelling-dress  and 
hat  and  go  from  the  chapel  to  the  yacht.  He  is  fearfully 
upset,  and  I  confess  my  knees  shook  when  I  received  his 
summons  to  the  Hofburg  yesterday.  He  gave  me  my 
official  instructions,  if  you  like  to  call  them  that,  in  less 
than  ten  minutes,  and  then  wouldn't  even  shake  hands 
with  me,  much  less  kiss  me.  Well— there  you  are!  Of 
course,  if  you  want  to  retreat  it  is  not  too  late." 

The  words  had  dinned  into  Ranata's  ears  like  the 
inharmonious  clashing  of  many  bells,  and  her  mental 
attitude  was  little  less  homogeneous.  Her  conquering 
sensation  was  one  of  profound  humiliation,  accompanied 
by  a  vivid  appreciation  of  all  she  was  renouncing.  In  less 
than  forty-eight  hours  she  would  be  no  longer  the  daugh 
ter  of  a  great  empire,  Archduchess  of  Austria  and  Princess 
of  Hungary,  but  a  citoyenne,  a  unit  of  a  huge  and  heaving 
republic.  And,  barring  the  unavoidable  ceremony  of 
renunciation  and  the  distinguished  witnesses,  she  was  to 
be  married  and  despatched  as  were  she  one  of  her  own 
maids.  Was  love  so  tremendous  a  thing  that  it  was 
worth  the  barter  of  birthright  and  the  loftiest  state  to 
which  a  mortal  might  be  born?  Ranata  had  driven 
forth  most  of  her  traditions,  but  she  was  the  descendant 
of  eight  centuries  of  kings,  and  her  Americanism  was  yet 
in  the  making.  She  looked  hard  into  the  future,  and 
wondered.  At  this  juncture  Alexandra  produced  a  letter. 

"  It  is  from  Fessenden.  I  will  leave  you  alone  with  it 
if  you  will  tell  me  where  I  am  to  sleep.  I  dined  on  the 
train,  but  I'd  like  to  get  into  something  loose." 

Ranata  took  the  letter.     It  warmed  her  hand  and  she 
405 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

smiled.  "You  had  better  take  my  aunt's  room,"  she  said. 
"  It  has  two  beds,  and  to-morrow  night  I  will  sleep  with 
you  there.  I  have  been  using  the  state  bedroom,  as  it  has 
fewer  associations,  but  I  shall  have  to  give  that  to  my 
father.  What  on  earth  are  we  to  do  with  all  those 
people?  Some  will  have  to  go  to  the  villa  up  on  the  hill, 
or  to  the  hotel  in  Trieste— this  castle  is  not  so  large  as  it 
looks.  I  suppose  Fessenden  will  sleep  on  the  yacht? 
Thank  Heaven  there  will  be  plenty  to  think  about. 
What  time  do  they  arrive?" 

"At  half -past  four,  on  a  special  train  — so  that  the 
Emperor  may  dine  as  usual  at  five.  The  ceremonies  are 
to  be  performed  on  the  following  morning,  and  your 
father's  train  will  leave  for  Vienna  at  twelve.  My  father 
and  I  start  in  the  evening  for  Genoa,  whence  we  sail  for 
New  York.  I  suspect  the  Emperor  hates  the  thought  of 
coming  here,  but  in  his  present  frame  of  mind  it  is  the 
less  of  two  evils." 

Ranata  escorted  Alexandra  to  the  simple  blue  and  gray 
bedroom  with  its  two  pathetic  little  beds,  then  went  to 
the  state  bedchamber  in  which  she  had  lodged  for  the 
past  fortnight.     It  was  a  superb  and  stately  room,  in 
which,  like  the  rest  of  the  castle,   one  might  yet  ^be 
comfortable.     The  old  French  bedstead  was  of  massive 
gilt,   with  high   and  twisted  pillars,  but   open   above; 
and  on  the  walls  and  on  the  furniture  was  the  crimson 
brocade  wrought  with  the  Mexican  eagle  and  imperial 
crown ;  a  tapestry  which  the  prince  who  ordered  it  had 
never  seen.     Contemporary  kings,  a  pope  and  a  queen, 
with  their  coats-of-arms  above  the  frames,  covered  much 
of  the  walls;  and  most  of  those  who  had  sat  to  please 
their  friend  were  dead.     Beyond  was  the  great  audience- 
chamber,  hung  and  furnished  with  the  same  imperial 
crimson,   but   with   fewer   paintings:   the   Emperor   of 
Austria  when  young ;  Elizabeth  in  her  exquisite  and  high- 

406 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

spirited  youth;  and  Maximilian  in  his  ermine,  looking 
still,  majestic  as  was  his  figure,  the  gentleman  and  the 
scholar  and  no  more — the  heavy  open  mouth  the  index 
to  his  failure  in  the  alien  role.  Continuing  the  great 
suite  were  similar  rooms,  where  the  eagle  and  the  crown 
deepened  to  blood  shade  in  the  twilight. 

Ran  at  a  looked  about  her  lingeringly.  It  was  all  a 
mockery,  to  be  sure.  Had  her  father  possessed  a  proper 
sense  of  humor  he  would  have  burned  the  tapestries 
and  the  portrait,  done  all  that  he  could  to  obliterate  the 
memory  of  a  fiasco  which  would  have  been  one  of  the 
passing  absurdities  of  history  had  it  not  been  for  the 
untimely  finish  of  an  estimable  man  and  the  more  cruel 
fate  of  his  wife;  nevertheless  it  was  impressive  in  its 
high  and  perfect  harmonies  and  in  its  serious  intent, 
and  it  expressed  sufficiently  all  that  she  was  about  to 
renounce.  Moreover,  she  was  leaving  the  loveliest  and 
most  various  country  in  Europe — for  what  ?  She  might 
have  this  beautiful  castle  for  her  own  did  she  remain 
Archduchess  of  Austria,  and  in  Europe  there  must  always 
be  a  thousand  compensations  that  could  never  be  found 
in  a  new  country  among  a  crude  and  alien  people,  were 
love  less  than  she  had  dreamed.  A  composite  of 
woman  seemed  to  come  forth  from  the  shades  and  warn 
her  that  love  was  not  all,  nor  yet  enough,  for  man 
demands  all,  yet  so  little,  giving  less  in  return.  The 
music  of  the  Chardash  rose,  as  the  ghost  of  the  dead 
women  drifted  on ;  and  then  the  words  of  Sarolta.  But 
in  a  moment  she  lit  a  candle  and  read  Fessenden's  letter. 


XXXVII 

They  arrived  on  the  following  afternoon,  the  Em 
peror  and  his  American  guests,  his  relatives,  his  primate, 

407 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

two  or  three  members  of  his  household,  and  his  ministers. 
It  was  raining  when  they  left  the  train  at  the  little 
mountain -station,  and  there  was  no  driveway,  no 
alternative  but  to  walk  down  the  steep  and  winding 
paths  and  stairs,  sheltered  by  the  umbrellas  the  lackeys 
held  over  them.  As  the  long  file  under  the  umbrellas 
emerged  from  the  arbor  into  the  garden,  the  Emperor 
picking  his  way  daintily  on  his  diminutive  toes,  and  the 
Archbishop  holding  up  his  gown  with  both  hands,  while 
the  gorgeous  flunkies  streamed  with  rain,  the  sight 
was  not  as  imperial  as  it  should  have  been,  and  two 
girls  in  an  upper  window  giggled  irreverently.  Being 
uncertain  of  their  status,  they  left  Maria  Leopoldina 
to  receive  in  solitary  state,  and  did  not  appear  until 
dinner;  but  when  this  solemn  hour  arrived,  Ranata, 
in  an  evening  -  gown  of  pale  -  green  velvet  and  all  her 
pearls,  entered  the  audience-chamber  where  the  party 
was  assembled,  greeted  her  father  and  the  guests  as  she 
had  done  many  times  before,  and  led  the  Archbishop 
down  to  dinner.  With  Fessenden  it  was  not  possible 
to  exchange  more  than  a  flash. 

It  was  a  dreary  function.  The  Emperor1  did  not  utter 
a  word,  although  he  was  graciously  pleased  to  intimate 
that  his  guests  might  talk  if  they  could.  Mr.  Abbott  ate 
his  restricted  meal  with  an  expression  of  grim  humor, 
and  felt  himself  exempt  from  verbal  expression.  The 
Emperor,  perhaps  with  a  corresponding  sense  of  irony, 
had  asked  him  to  occupy  the  state  bedroom,  lodging 
himself  in  the  little  camp-bed  with  its  tentlike  curtains, 
beloved  of  the  sailor  in  Maximilian.  The  archdukes  and 
ministers  mumbled  at  each  other;  Fessenden  and  Ra 
nata  were  many  feet  apart.  Even  Alexandra  was  de 
pressed,  and  stared  at  the  ugly  old  masters  on  the  walls, 
longing  for  the  solace  of  Zrinyi.  Maria  Leopoldina  was 
still  in  a  state  of  bewilderment  and  horror,  which  made 

408 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

her  fearful  of  attempting  speech  lest  she  gibber.  At 
times  the  ticking  of  the  clock  in  the  ceiling  above  the 
table  could  be  distinctly  heard. 

After  dinner  the  Emperor  and  three  of  his  friends 
retired  hastily  to  the  study  for  a  game  of  whist,  the 
others  scattered,  and  Ranata  and  Fessenden  found  a 
few  moments  alone  in  Carlotta's  boudoir  in  the  tower. 

For  a  time  there  was  no  conversation ;  then  Fessenden 
placed  his  hands  on  her  shoulders  and  held  her  from  him, 
his  eyes  narrowing  to  a  fiery  point. 

"Do  you  realize  that  I  have  won?"  he  said — "that 
you  and  I  are  changing  the  face  of  the  world?"  * 

"Yes — Alexandra  has  told  me  everything.  I  think 
you  more  wonderful  than  ever — but — is  it  for  the  best? 
Changes  should  come  in  the  slow  course  of  events." 

"No  change  occurs  that  the  world  is  not  ready  for. 
The  world  has  never  been  readier  for  the  extermination 
of  Russia,  particularly  now  that  she  has  become  a 
menace  to  the  United  States.  And  the  sooner  Europe 
is  a  republic  the  better." 

"I  believe  you  care  more  for  this  part  of  your  ac 
complishment  than  for  me." 

His  eyes  relaxed  and  the  fires  spread. 

"  No,"  he  said ;  "  I  do  not.  And  we  are  all  mere  tools, 
my  dear." 

"  If  I  were  still  superstitious,"  she  said  a  while  later,  "  I 
should  feel  very  uncomfortable.  I  am  sure  this  is  a 
subtle  revenge  of  my  father's — not  only  to  marry  me 
in  this  castle,  but  to  force  me  to  embark  from  the  very 
spot  on  which  Maximilian  said  good-bye  to  Europe 
forever.  Your  yacht  is  where  the  ship  stood  which 
took  him  to  Mexico.  Not  that  my  father  wishes  me 
any  such  terrible  fate,  but  he  believes  me  to  be  super 
stitious,  and  that  I  shall  be  punished  by  my  imagination, 
if  not  by  my  conscience.  But  it  is  too  late  for  that! 

409 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

And  Maximilian  failed  because  he  was  Maximilian.     I 
believe  you  could  not  fail  if  you  tried." 


XXXVIII 

The  next  morning  at  ten  o'clock  the  Emperor  and  his 
guests  entered  the  great  brown  and  gold  and  crimson 
throne  room  with  its  imposing  frieze  of  Hapsburg  rulers, 
its  illustrated  genealogy  of  the  blended  houses  of 
Hapsburg  and  Lorraine,  crowned  so  naively  with 
Maximilian  and  Carlotta,  its  eleven  graceful  chandeliers, 
and  its  meagre  and  apologetic  throne.  This  the  Em 
peror,  in  the  full-dress  uniform  of  an  Austrian  general, 
ascended  with  no  apparent  sense  of  its  incongruity, 
thankful,  no  doubt,  that  it  stood  ready  for  the  occasion. 
Before  it  was  a  table  spread  with  a  formidable-looking 
document.  On  either  side  of  the  throne  stood  the 
archdukes  and  the  ministers,  also  in  full  uniform. 
The  Primate,  in  his  robes  of  ceremony,  faced  the  Em 
peror,  and  Fessenden  stood  close  to  the  table,  his 
father  beside  him.  The  rain  had  passed,  the  gay 
southern  sunshine  flooded  the  fine  room,  where,  for  the 
first  time  in  its  history,  an  emperor  stood  on  its  mockery 
of  a  throne.  It  had  been  built  for  balls  and  other 
functions  of  young  and  wealthy  royalty,  and  in  those 
days  the  crimson  tapestries  had  not  been  woven. 

A  moment  after  the  Emperor  had  taken  his  position 
on  the  throne,  Ranata,  accompanied  by  Alexandra,  and 
for  the  last  time  by  an  Obersthofmeisterin,  entered  and 
walked  proudly  up  the  room.  She  wore,  not  the  sombre 
frock  her  father  had  had  in  mind  when  he  issued  the 
imperial  fiat  that  she  should  marry  in  travelling-dress, 
but  an  elaborate  and  beautiful  costume  of  white  cloth. 
The  Emperor  scowled,  but  felt  himself  helpless,  for  she 

410 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

also  wore  a  hat,  albeit  with  plumes  that  were  truly 
imperial,  and  framing  and  enhancing  a  beauty  which 
might  have  been  conventionalized  and  half  obscured 
by  orange-blossoms  and  lace.  She  wore  the  pearls 
which  her  skin  always  seemed  to  reflect,  her  eyes 
sparkled,  there  was  a  faint  pink  in  her  cheeks,  a  deeper 
hue  in  her  lips,  and  she  had  never  borne  herself  with 
a  more  subtle  blending  of  triumphant  beauty  and  the 
dower  of  eight  centuries  of  kings.  She  looked  so  happy 
that  even  her  relatives  smiled  in  involuntary  sympathy, 
although  they  had  never  disapproved  of  a  Hapsburg 
more.  As  for  Fessenden,  who  had  been  beating  a  light 
tattoo  on  the  table,  staring  at  the  document,  he  stood 
suddenly  erect,  his  eyes  flashing  their  pride  and  de 
light;  and  when  they  stood  together  before  the  throne 
they  seemed  to  fill  the  room  with  their  victorious  youth, 
and  to  obliterate  every  memory  of  failure  and  tragedy. 
The  Emperor  stood  speechless  for  almost  two  mo 
ments.  Age  might  have  atrophied  his  power  to  suffer, 
and  religion  and  philosophy  have  long  since  taught 
him  to  accept  the  inevitable  with  little  more  than  a 
sigh;  nevertheless,  in  these  moments  he  felt  a  hot  tide 
of  youthful  rebellion  rise  from  mould  and  mildew,  and 
of  all  the  crosses  he  had  been  called  upon  to  lift  to  his 
shoulders  this  seemed  to  him  the  heaviest.  The  stillness 
was  so  intense  that  many  made  a  quick  movement  of 
uneasiness.  The  Emperor  recovered  himself,  and  in 
cold  grave  tones  called  upon  all  present  to  witness  that 
his  daughter  renounced  her  rights  and  titles,  and,  with 
her  betrothed,  all  pretensions  to  the  thrones  of  Austria 
and  Hungary.  The  terms  of  the  renunciation  were 
then  read  aloud  by  the  prime-minister  of  Austria,  the 
Primate  administered  the  oath,  the  affianced  couple 
signed  the  document,  and  Ranata  for  the  moment 
felt  nameless  and  bewildered. 

411 


RULERS    OF    KINGS 

But  the  signatures  having  been  witnessed  with  due 
solemnity,  the  party  went  at  once  to  the  little  Jerusalem 
chapel,  and  Fessenden  gave  Ranata  what  her  father  had 
taken  from  her;  and,  so  the  Americans  and  the  man  in 
him  believed,  far  more  besides.  There  was  no  break 
fast,  for  that  would  involve  the  drinking  of  healths  with 
their  flowered  expressions  of  approval,  their  reiterated 
good  wishes  and  will.  The  moment  the  brief  ceremony 
was  over  the  Emperor  led  the  way  out  to  the  terrace, 
and  down  the  long  flight  to  that  other  terrace  whose 
lower  steps  were  in  the  sea.  A  boat — its  rowers  with 
tossed  oars — awaited  the  newly  wed,  and  beyond  was 
the  yacht  in  gala  dress  of  flags  and  banners  and  pen 
nants. 

Fessenden  and  Ranata  were  the  last  to  leave  the  castle. 
The  others  stood  stiff  and  straight  beside  the  two  short 
flights  of  steps  leading  into  the  water,  the  Emperor  on 
the  right  and  slightly  in  front.  The  windows  in  this 
angle  of  the  castle  were  suddenly  alive  with  servants,  not 
wholly  unsympathetic,  but  no  flunkies  lined  the  long 
flight  to  the  lower  terrace  as  the  bridal  couple  descended. 
Did  Ranata  think  of  the  stately  ceremonies  in  the 
Hofburg,  the  dim  and  perfumed  magnificence  of  St. 
Stephen's,  the  joyous  pealing  of  all  the  bells  in  Vienna, 
the  procession  to  the  church  of  prelates,  and  military, 
and  royalty  in  the  six-horsed  coaches  of  gilt  and  glass, 
that  the  world  had  come  to  see,  the  congratulations  of 
every  sovereign  in  Europe — all  that  would  have  been 
hers  had  she  married  as  an  Archduchess  of  Austria  is 
expected  to  marry?  Perhaps;  for  she  was  human,  and 
a  woman;  but  doubtless  she  also  reflected  that  she  had 
spent  a  goodly  part  of  her  life  avoiding,  with  dexterity 
or  obstinacy,  such  a  wedding-day  as  that ;  and,  Fessenden 
Abbott  remaining  unknown  to  her,  she  never  would 
have  married  at  all. 

412 


RULERS    OP    KINGS 

But  any  such  fugitive  reflections  were  routed  by  the 
prospect  of  the  impending  farewell  with  her  father;  for 
the  moment  her  very  happiness  seemed  blighted.  It 
was  true  she  had  known  him  little,  that  her  more 
congenial  older  sisters  had  appropriated  what  love  had 
not  been  shocked  out  of  him,  but  until  these  last  weeks 
she  had  had  little  to  forgive,  and  indirectly  she  owed 
her  happiness  to  him;  for  she  had  laid  its  foundations 
in  the  period  of  liberty  he  granted  her.  And  he  was  her 
father,  nor  was  it  likely  she  would  ever  see  him  again. 
He  stood  like  a  soldier,  staring  at  the  yacht,  nothing 
betraying  the  genial  kindness  of  his  nature.  When 
Ranata,  with  her  husband,  reached  the  landing,  the 
Emperor  turned  and  appeared  about  to  favor  her  with 
another  of  the  cold  and  courteous  bows  which  had  been 
her  portion  of  late ;  but  she  saw  that  he  was  maintaining 
the  severity  of  his  countenance  with  an  effort,  and 
she  approached  him  and  put  up  her  lips  timidly.  He 
took  her  in  his  arms  then  and  held  her  closely,  and  told 
her  that  he  forgave  her,  and  hoped  she  would  be  happy. 
After  that  her  relatives  came  forward  and  embraced  her, 
the  other  Austrians  kissed  her  hand  for  the  last  time, 
and  then  Mr.  Abbott  and  Alexandra  went  with  her 
down  the  water-steps  and  into  the  boat. 

"Good-bye,  sir,  and  thank  you,"  said  Fessenden,  as  he 
shook  hands  with  his  father-in-law.  He  was  turning 
away  when  he  faced  about  again.  "I  should  like  to 
tell  you,"  he  added,  "that  I  am  not  superstitious — and 
neither  is  Ranata." 

"Ah!"  exclaimed  the  Emperor.  "Well— I  am  glad— 
I  am  very  glad." 


THE  END 


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